


Moonstruck: The Waxing Moon

by maaldas



Series: Moonstruck [2]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Action, Actors, Alpha Jensen, Alpha/Omega, Angst, Animal Transformation, Dubious Consent, F/F, F/M, Gore, Knotting, M/M, Minor Character Death, Omega Jared, Organized Crime, Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-22
Updated: 2014-07-22
Packaged: 2018-02-10 00:14:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 48,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2003439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maaldas/pseuds/maaldas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Previously: Jared Padalecki is a young omega werewolf who has sequestered himself away in a cabin in the woods in preparation for his bi-annual heat. One evening, while running through the woods he finds Jensen, an injured young man lying unconscious in the woods. He nurses Jensen back to health but to his dismay, he realizes too late that Jensen has been bitten and he’s going to turn for the first time during the full moon which coincides with Jared’s heat cycle. Mother Natures' timing sucks! It also doesn’t help that Jensen is the one who had made Jared’s life a living hell during his childhood.</p>
<p>Now, as the new patriarch of the Ackles family, Jensen builds his new Pack with revenge on his mind. Determined to prove to his stepbrother that he is a changed man, Jensen goes to court him and destroys Jared’s acting career in the process. Uncovering secrets, waging though the mud that is mob/pack politic and getting Jared’s heart along the way, Jensen’s life has never been more exciting. </p>
<p>Introducing a new Alpha/Omega dynamic where the Omega is the power holder.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Yellow Embers

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank my Betas jonjokeat and masja_17 for their patience during the writing of this sequel; for listening to my rant and last minute revision and all around being supportive of me and my neurotic way of writing. Without them, I'd be surely lost and this story won't be written. Then, the fabulous mizzy2k for drawing me such awesome arts. Please check her journal and leave some love. They really are beautiful.
> 
> Last but not least, hats off for wendy for arranging and moderating such a great community spn_j2_bigbang in a neat and organized way, very professional. I had a great time.
> 
> Disclamer: Obviously, not mine.

 

                                                                         

 

  
Claire shifted inside her sleeping bag, turning her body around to face the tent wall when she heard a growl in the distance. She frowned and listened intently but aside from the soft snoring of her boyfriend and the rustling of leaves above them, everything was quiet. She had started to drift into the amorphous land of sleep when she heard it again, louder this time. She jerked awake and scrambled to reach the flashlight. She directed the yellowish light around the inside of the tent, holding her breath. Her boyfriend was dead to the world next to her, cocooned inside his sleeping bag. She thought of waking him up but decided not to and investigated it herself.  
  
Another rustling sound outside the tent flap pulled her attention and she quickly scooted out of her sleeping bag to crawl towards it. Flashlight held tight in one hand, Claire pulled the zip upwards. She directed the light outside, skimming dead leaves and scattered twigs on the forest floor. The dying embers were still smoking inside the circle of stones that made their camp fire. She lifted the flashlight higher, shining the light onto trees surrounding the tent. Squirrels darted away, dropping half eaten figs. For a while, she thought she had dreamed it and chastised herself for being scared of her own imagination. Then, the quiet of the night was shattered by the sound of a very loud growl. Claire’s scream was frozen in her throat as the side of the tent was ripped apart by sharp claws before a big drooling muzzle poked through the shredded canvas. Her flashlight clattered to the tent floor shining its light on the side of the tent next to a wolf’s furry head.  
  
The wolf was huge; the point of his ears almost reached the top of their small tent. It took a couple of sniffs at Claire. She didn’t dare move a muscle as it turned its head to stare at her with its big yellow eyes. Its wet tongue licked the sharp-as-tusk-teeth and Claire whimpered. Half of her scared-shitless brain idly wondered how Brady could stay asleep through the ruckus but there he was, snoring obliviously as the wolf sniffed at his sleeping bag. The selfish part of her prayed that the wolf would be too occupied with him to care if she took off running but her limbs refused to cooperate. Once the predator got bored of sniffing him, it turned its attention to their supply bag above Brady’s head.  
  
It ripped the canvas bag as if it was paper thin, spilling the contents on the ground. It rummaged through them for a few seconds before the trilling sound of Brady’s favorite video game pierced the night. The wolf barked at it, seemingly displeased by the interruption. Oddly enough, the sound of the game woke its owner.  
  
Brady pushed the flap of his sleeping bag open and sat up, half asleep and looked at Claire blearily. “Babe, did you turn on my PSP?”  
  
Claire really wanted to smash him in the head before the wolf did it for her. She let out a quiet whine and looked at her boyfriend pointedly before shifting her eyes over at the wolf behind him that was still clawing the noisy contraption. She tried to tell him about the danger looming just a few inches away from his head without having to say it but apparently Brady was at his most dull when he’d just woken up. Claire never thought he was the brightest bulb in the store to begin with and she liked him mostly for his sense of humor and his nice car, although she could do without his unhealthy obsession for anything that ran on four wheels.  
  
All of a sudden, the cheerful sound stopped abruptly. “Huh, I haven’t finished that game,” mumbled Brady before lying back down, completely oblivious. Claire stared at him in utter disbelief.  
  
Something hit the ground and Claire saw Brady’s treasured game boy lying broken next to her sleeping bag. Brady, who apparently was still awake, turned to look at it. He frowned a moment before turning his head upwards. Claire held her breath. There was a few seconds of silence while Brady seemed to process the fact that there was a wild beast inside their tent.  
  
“Holy fuck!!”  
  
In a flurry of awkward movement, Brady tried to jump off the ground but since he was still bundled snugly inside his sleeping bag, he didn’t get far. He ended up creeping and rolling around on the ground like a caterpillar, cussing loudly and repeatedly. Claire’s attention wasn’t on her boyfriend, though. Her eyes were fixed on the wolf, feeling oddly surprised that the beast only looked on the commotion with disinterest. For a second there, Claire was even sure she saw a glint of amusement in its slanted eyes before it let out a loud growl; so loud that even the tent shook with it.  
  
Brady froze, shaking and whimpering as he curled up on the ground between Claire and the wolf. The wolf snarled at him, grinned and licked its teeth as it sniffed Brady’s sleeping bag before grunting and drawing back a couple of steps. It growled one more time at Brady before losing interest and returning to rummage around in the bag. Claire smelled something foul that tickled her nose and realized that her boyfriend had apparently lost his fight with his bowels and the awful smell was coming from him. It was also probably the reason why the wolf balked after sniffing him. She didn’t know if she should feel sorry for Brady or the wolf.  
  
The wolf must have finally found what it was looking for as Claire could see that it was holding something between its teeth. The flashlight had rolled farther away into the corner of the tent after Brady’s frantic imitation of a caterpillar and shone its weakening light towards the other side of the making it difficult for Claire to see what it was the wolf had taken before the big beast leaped over the still whimpering Brady and went through the ripped canvas, disappearing into the black of night.  
  
It was sometime later when the couple was packing what was left of their camping gear that they realized that Brady’s wallet was missing.  


 

                                                                                                         

  
  
Jensen crouched under a big oak tree, digging into the ground between two large roots. He was barefoot and dirty, his flannel shirt hanging open (it had lost its buttons about ten shifts ago) but he didn’t care. There was still a speck of blood on his chin from his latest meal; a once fat, brown rabbit that he’d hunted and eaten an hour before. He was still having difficulties assimilating his mind while in wolf form. Things were a little jumbled and skewed when he stood on all fours but he remembered exactly where his wolf self had hidden that couple’s wallet.  
  
It had been days, probably weeks, since he’d burst out of Jared’s cabin and he’d started to get bored of rabbit meat. He’d hunted a squirrel once but the rodent’s meat didn’t taste as delicious. So, he’d decided that it was time for him to venture out of the woods and for that he needed money. The clothes he wore had been torn in places from his various shifts. Somehow, trying not to shift had proven more difficult than the shifting itself. His senses got twice, three times maybe even five times sharper not only as a wolf but also in his human form. Consequently, his animal instincts had carried through his shift back to human form, making him prone to anger and violence. Although he’d stopped thinking of himself as a monster days ago, he was still reluctant to return to civilization for fear of attacking humans.  
  
His mind wandered briefly to his stepbrother. He remembered how wimpy Jared had been as a little kid; always crying for his mom whenever Jensen so much as stuck out his tongue at him; definitely not a dangerous beast. Sure, he’d toughened up throughout the years and the older he got the more annoying and stubborn he had become but Jensen still couldn’t see any of Jared’s behavior that resembled those of a wolf, while Jensen still couldn’t keep his nose from twitching whenever he saw a rabbit or a squirrel. Most of the time, he just loved to chase them, scare them into their hidey holes before circling like a shark. It was fun. He even pissed on a few of the trees surrounding their burrows.  
  
Jensen shook his head with a sigh as he continued digging until his fingers reached the folded leather. He pulled the wallet out and cleaned the dirt off it. He hadn’t had a chance to look in it the other night, just stuffed it into a hole and covered it up with dirt before he went to chase a wayward squirrel that had been taunting him all day. There was an ID and a driver’s license, a couple of pictures, cute girl but the guy, not so much. He grinned triumphantly as he took the money out of the fold and counted it. Typical rich college kids, Jensen snorted, obviously forgetting that he’d once been one himself.  
  
Pocketing the money, he stood and dusted himself off as best he could before deciding to walk upright because his wolf form couldn’t keep clothes on let alone keep the money in his pocket. So, he was walking while quietly berating himself for hiding the money so deep in the forest. Well, the initial intention was to avoid running into other humans or worse a park ranger. He’d been living a nomadic lifestyle; never staying in one place too long, always on the move and he’d patted himself on the back for his brilliance of thinking when that first group of teenage campers had called a park ranger after he’d raided their meat supplies. He was hungry and those sausages were right there in the pan. So, the next thing he knew he’d run away with them while the girls were screaming and the guys swearing. The next day, he wasn’t stupid enough to have hung around and was already a few miles away when he heard the sound of a gun shot in the distance. He thought idly that Jared had probably never needed to steal or hunt for food. Damn, he missed Jared.  
  
There was a rustle to his right and he stopped to sniff the air. Hmmm … just a couple of squirrels fighting for fallen figs; he resumed his walking. He’d met various kinds of animals there in the forest, including wolves. Real gray wolves not the werewolf kind. Oddly enough, they’d shied away from him. He’d been trying to communicate with them and, you know, befriend them for lack of a better word. Find out how to say ‘hanging out’ in wolf language. Anyway, they ran away when Jensen was not even ten feet from them. They probably thought of him as an anomaly and a freak. Great, now, he was Jared during middle school.  
  
Inadvertently, his mind kept wandering back to his stepbrother. It was another thing that he was still trying to wrap his head around. Ever since he’d met the kid again days… weeks ago, he wasn’t sure, he couldn’t stop thinking about him. It was very annoying, especially, when the thought stirred something in Jensen that he refused to name or even acknowledge because his human self found it disturbing. He also remembered that Jared said that he’d been a werewolf since he was born. That meant his parents were also werewolves. Thus, he wondered if his dad was aware of that fact that he’d been married to a werewolf all that time. He probably should’ve listened when Jeff read him his father’s will. Instead, he just shoved the papers in a lock box and had it stored in his old room in his family’s old house before proceeding to get smashed, which was the only thing he did after the old man kicked the bucket; that and being debauched. He was mildly astounded that being turned into a werewolf had given him a new outlook on things, made him re-evaluate everything in his life. He still couldn’t decide if it was a good thing, though.  
  
It was dark in the forest, most of the sunlight couldn’t penetrate through the canopy but Jensen knew that it was sometime in the middle of the day. Call it his animal instinct; he always knew what time of the day it was, although the new ability didn’t do him much good other than marking the time when his prey came out of their burrows. Living in the wilderness was kind of liberating. There was no timetable to keep to, no appointments to attend, no expectations to reach, he was free to do as he pleased and his wolf self didn’t need much other than to hunt, eat and mate. That last one made his mind stray back to Jared again as images of naked, tanned flesh came unbridled to his mind. Damn it, fuck! He’d managed to keep away from that sort of thought for days now. Jensen sighed and guessed that if he had to make peace with being turned into a werewolf then he had to accept the curse of it as well as the advantages. If only the curse didn’t involve lusting over his stepbrother’s naked body. Why couldn’t life be simple?  


 

  
  
**Meanwhile in another more civilized part of town…**  
  
Jeffrey Dean Morgan was a cold hearted son of a bitch that was really good at what he did. He was very sought after as a lawyer in Seattle, before moving out to Dallas to work exclusively for the Ackles family. After the passing of the Ackles patriarch, Morgan was not only handling their legal matters but also running the family business. It wasn’t something that he enjoyed doing - money was not the reason he'd accepted Alan’s offer all those years ago. He gained the utmost satisfaction from winning a case even if he won it for someone who was far from innocent. Seeing the furious expression on his opponent’s face made his day. Reading financial statements did not. If it wasn’t for his promise to Alan Ackles he’d have left the family months ago. Now, not only had their most popular nightclub been blown to smithereens but Jensen Ackles was also missing. One of his harem had miraculously survived but the authorities still hadn’t been able to get any information out of her due to her severe injuries. So, really, he was forced to take the action.  
  
The elevator dinged and the door opened to a luxurious office with a set of elegant sofas on one side and a secretary’s desk situated right next to the big, double, mahogany doors across the room. Jeff strode out of the elevator with his phone still pressed to his ear, the longer the waiting tone went on the deeper his scowl became.  
  
“Julia, postpone all of my appointments for today and forward me Matilda’s contract,” Jeff snapped at his blond haired secretary.  
  
“But Sir, the contract has been sent to the courier and on its way to Matilda’s,” reported the secretary.  
  
“Call them back! I want that contract on my desk before lunch! There are revisions to be made.”  
  
“Yes sir,” said the secretary who quickly picked up the phone, presumably to call the courier.  
  
Jeff left her to it and went into his office. She knew what to do and he was sure that the contract would be on his desk before lunch, which was only thirty minutes away. And if Carlson didn’t pick up his phone in the next thirty minutes, he’d hunt him down and kill that son of a bitch with his own hands.  
  
“Damn it, Carlson! Pick up, you asshole,” Jeff shouted into the phone, knowing very well that Carlson couldn’t hear him. He threw his briefcase on his desk and walked towards the floor to ceiling windows at one side of his office. The glass was of the best quality and despite its expanse, it was bullet proof. One of the perks of being the best lawyer in town and working for a crime boss was having an office with the best view, in a highly secure building.  
  
He peered downwards to look at the bustling commoners on the street below. They looked like ants, pawns in a high-class and highly dangerous chess game. Sometimes, he wondered what it would be like to be one of them; a nine-to-five worker with only the next payday and the mortgage to worry about.  
  
 _“Hello…?”_  
  
The whispering voice on the other end of the line snapped Jeff out of his musing. He took a step back from the window and scolded the man. “What the fuck, Carlson? I’ve been calling you since last night.”  
  


  
  
He knew that his phone had been vibrating on and off all night but he couldn’t find it in himself to bother to answer it. He was in the middle of a job, so to speak, and the burner that had been vibrating was his personal number that he kept for a certain contact alone. He’d grabbed it out of his desk drawer when he heard the news, remembering too late that the person he’d intended to call wouldn’t be able answer, ever. So, imagine his surprise when the damn thing vibrated right in the middle of his interrogation.  
  
When the Chief decided to give the suspect a reprieve, he snuck out of the interrogation room and went straight into the nearest supply closet. After locking the door, he pulled the phone out of his jean’s pocket and looked at the screen. ‘Undisclosed Number’ glared out at him from the tiny window. He hesitated with his thumb over the answering button before deciding the hell with it. He’d better find out what this stupid fuck wanted and be done with it.  
  
“Hello…?” whispered Steve Carlson warily.  
  
An irate baritone answered him snappishly. The guy sounded self-important and arrogant but didn’t give his identity. It was enough to annoy the hell out of him. Just what he needed; an arrogant, self-important prick to call him for some unknown reason. So he snapped a question of his own, “Who’s this? How d’you get this number?”  
  
 _“Stop being an idiot…”_  
  
“Well stop being a prick!” Steve hissed. “This is a classified number. How did you get this number? Who are you?!”  
  
There was a few beats of silence before the snappish tone on the other side turned to smug. _“Who do you think? Alan gave it to me.”_  
  
Suddenly, Steve could hear his heart beating faster but he willed himself to calm down and think things through.  There was too much at stake here. He’d spent months, almost a year, distancing himself from any kind of involvement with the family, ever since the Ackles patriarch had bitten the dust. When he heard that Ackles’ son didn’t have any interest in the business except for getting wasted and frittering away the money at every bar and nightclub in the country, he thought he could breathe a little easier. What did he care if the Ackles family business was squandered by the downward spiraling of its only heir? He’d got his own career to think about.  
  
“Alan died months ago. Now, tell me who you are or I hang up,” Steve threatened.  
  
 _“Look, I know who you are and about your deal with Alan ’cause I’m the one who helped him write his will,”_ said the arrogant prick.  
  
Steve knew about the Ackles family lawyer. A stuck-up bastard who’d managed to put Sheppard behind bars for ten years. He hadn’t been a detective at the time but he’d played a part in the man’s incarceration ten years ago. “You’re the son of a bitch who threw old Sheppard into jail for a while.”  
  
 _“I’d aimed for thirty years. Didn’t expect him to weasel out of it in a mere ten,”_ said the lawyer in an exasperated tone.  
  
Steve snorted, you and me both he thought, but he didn’t say it out loud. He still didn’t trust this guy; not with Sheppard out of jail and apparently hell bent on exacting his revenge on the Ackles family; the bombing of one of Ackles’ most prestigious nightclubs was just the start. It would be better to stay out of their crossfire if he wanted to survive. “My deal was with Alan and now that he’s doing the tango with the big guy upstairs, my debt’s settled. I got him Sheppard! It wasn’t my fault he got away with ten instead of thirty. That’s your problem!” Steve hissed into the phone.  
  
 _“Perhaps I should remind you that I still keep all the proof of_ _that murder you did all those years ago.”_  
  
Steve wished he could smack the smug out of his voice.  
  
“It’s been ten years. The case is closed. Besides, the police department is too busy with the bombing at the moment to care about a ten year old case,” said Steve, keeping his voice steady despite the quickening of his pulse.  
  
 _“How can you be so sure?”_ taunted the lawyer. _“Alan maybe gone but the family’s not dead and I still have influence among law enforcement.”_  
  
Steve gritted his teeth, “What do you want?”  
  
 _“I want info on the boy, Alan’s boy. He was there when the club exploded,”_ said the lawyer, straight to business.  
  
“You got the wrong guy, pal. We don’t know any more than you or the news at the moment and it’s not top priority now since we’re sure that he’s dead along with his whores.”  
  
 _“One of them survived,”_ reminded the lawyer.  
  
“Yes, but she’s not much good in her condition. Look, I know you want to believe otherwise but the fact is-”  
  
 _“You still can’t find the body, can you?”_ snapped the lawyer _. “Then, probably you are looking in the wrong place. If Sheppard is behind the bombing he wouldn’t have killed Jensen right away. He’d want him alive.”_  
  
“What for?” challenged Steve.  
  
 _“That’s all you need to know but I’m sure he’s holding him somewhere. Now, what I want you to do is to gain inside information from Sheppard’s organization. He’s a crime boss. The first thing he did once he was out of prison would’ve been to round up his men and start planning. The boy’s not much use these days but he’s still Alan’s son. I can’t keep the family together if he’s dead.”_  
  
“You’re asking the impossible. I’m not undercover anymore. They’ll make me before I get within ten miles.”  
  
 _“I’m sure you’ll find a way. You’re a detective now, use your brain! Remember who put you in that position! I want updating every day, you hear me?!”_ shouted the lawyer before ending his call abruptly.  
  
“Fuck!!” Steve raged and kicked at an empty tin bucket until it was bent out of shape. Closing his eyes and trying valiantly to calm himself down, Steve took a couple of deep breaths before straightening his clothes and patting down his hair.  
  
An administration clerk stared at him when he came out of the closet. “What!” Steve barked at her and glared until she scurried away. He really wasn’t looking forward to the rest of the day.  
  
  



	2. Silver Forks

 

  


 

  
It had been almost a month and the news about the bombing of one of his nightclubs had lost its front-page appeal but Jensen could still spot the chaos Sheppard was making in various sections of the newspaper. It was there in the news about the suicide of a certain business owner in one section, a company acquisition in another and even the sudden drop of a mining company’s stock value was a sign that Sheppard had started to make his move to take over the Ackles’s business. He wondered what Jeff would think about this but then again who was to say that Jeff was still a loyal hired gun. He could be the one who’d orchestrated all of it; his kidnapping, the destruction of his father’s business even him turning into a werewolf.  
  
Jensen crumpled the newspaper in his hands with a vicious growl as he fumed in the backseat of a taxi on his way to a hospital. He’d learned from the news that one of his girls had survived albeit with a disability and he was on his way to see her. He hadn’t been to his house, yet. He didn’t know if Sheppard had gone there or not but he wasn’t stupid enough to risk the chance. He knew he would have to be smart and plan his way carefully if he wanted to hit back at that limey bitch but for the life of him he couldn’t think of anything at the moment beyond getting pissed and it wasn’t the right time for that because he still couldn’t control his wolf side very well. As it was, he could hear a loud roar in his head as he imagined ripping that bastard’s chest to ribbons and snapping his neck with his teeth.  
  
“Sir, we’re here.”  
  
The taxi driver’s voice snapped Jensen out of his daydreaming. He blinked and stared in stunned surprise at his elongated nails. Feeling his face in panic, he sighed in relief when he could only feel skin and not whiskers. Even though he knew that his face hadn’t transformed, his teeth still felt sharper and longer than usual. Jensen bent forward and put his head between his knees in an attempt to calm himself and hide the scary deformities from the taxi driver who had grown more concerned over his behaviour as he struggled to wrangle his wild side back down.  
  
“Sir, you’re alright there?”  
  
“Ye…yeah …. Yeah I’m fine. Just … just ate something bad. I’m fine. Just need a minute, please,” answered Jensen in a strangled gasp.  
  
“Just don’t take all day, man. I’ve work to do and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make a mess in my cab. Don’t need any more trouble,” grumbled the driver.  
  
Jensen took a deep breath and frantically tried to remember what Erin had said about meditating technique.  “Focus, right, focus on your breathing. Come on, Jensen, you can do it. In … out… ” He forced his mind to think of things other than Sheppard, happier things and saw his claws retracting along with the slowing down of his heart beat, “good, that’s good, it’s working.”  
  
“Hey, you done there?” the driver called out again. “You’re in front of a hospital, dude. You probably should get yourself checked out.”  
  
“Yeah, yeah, in a moment.” Jensen frowned when his claws refused to retreat to their usual length. They were still kind of longish and really, really sharp but he guessed it would have to do. At least his teeth had returned to normal. He took a deep breath and put on a fake smile. The driver eyed him warily for a moment before accepting his money and driving away.  
  
The noise of the hectic bustle of people in the waiting area of the hospital annoyed Jensen’s sensitive hearing. After almost a month living in the wilderness, it took a while for him to adjust to the sound of the city again. The hardest part was the smell. It had sent his senses reeling and his stomach turning. He couldn’t believe how awful the city smelt. The first time his werewolf senses had picked up every tiny, awful detail of it, he’d cringed in disgust and spent almost half a day cowering in an alley between two busy restaurants. He hadn’t had the chance or the need to learn to block his senses while he was still in the woods because he had counted on them to survive. Apparently, the same thing couldn’t be said if a werewolf wanted to live in the city among humans. In order to function to survive, he must learn to dull his senses. No wonder humans were so washed out and dull, Jensen thought bitterly. He couldn’t help but think if his decision to venture out of the woods that soon was wise but he'd steeled his resolve once he'd caught up on the news. He couldn’t afford any more delay if he wanted to save his father’s business from Sheppard’s clutches. He owed his father that at least, even though, he wasn’t sure who he could trust. But there was one person he needed to see.  
  
Jensen made a beeline towards the receptionist, weaving through the people lounging around the waiting hall. Taking off his sunglasses, he pasted on his most charming smile and greeted the harried looking, middle aged lady behind the desk.  
  
“Hi, there! Can you tell me where Cindy Sampson is being treated?”  
  
“And you are?” asked the receptionist tiredly, clearly unimpressed by Jensen’s charm.  
  
Jensen’s smile wavered a bit before he upped its voltage from charming to blinding. Let’s see if the power of the Ackles charm was able to penetrate her cold heart. “Uh … her brother. You see, I’m an archaeologist and I’ve just returned from my expedition in Egypt. Been knee deep in sands and mummy’s entrails for the past year and by the time the news of my sister’s accident reached me, it’ had been a week. Although I can’t blame them, really, because our expedition took us into the heart of this ancient pyramid and the courier had to travel through sand storms on a camel to deliver the news. Took another week for me to return to civilization, several days getting through customs, you know how it is…”  
  
Jensen wasn’t sure if mummies really did have entrails or if there were any sand storms nowadays but he thought neither did the receptionist. Also, he wasn’t lying about Cindy’s brother. He really was an archaeologist, Cindy had said so. It was just that her brother was in Africa instead of Egypt and they had had a fall out three years ago. So, it was unlikely that he would suddenly show up unannounced.  
  
“No, I don’t,” said the receptionist impassively, eyes still trained towards her computer screen. Jensen started to suspect that she was a robot or something. “Room 47, third floor.”  
  
“Thank you.” He quickly made himself scarce before the robot receptionist got suspicious and asked more questions. Was it because he wasn’t human now that she hadn’t found him attractive? The train of thought led to an uncomfortable and quite upsetting conclusion and he so didn’t need that at the moment.  
  
Finding Cindy’s room was easy but getting inside was not. Apparently, his girl was so high profile that her room was guarded. There was a man in a black suit sat on a single chair right next to room 47’s door, looking very serious. Jensen didn’t recognize him and since he had never paid attention to his father’s men other than his personal bodyguard, he wasn’t sure if the man was one of his, Sheppard’s or the police. He’d better tread carefully rather than be sorry.  
  
Jensen walked around the third floor, thinking, while avoiding the hallway where Cindy’s room was located when he passed a doctor’s office. An idea blinked into his head. The chance was slim and he’d only seen it a handful of times on Megalyn’s favourite TV show when she’d managed to strong-arm him into watching it with her. So, clearly, if it failed, it was one hundred percent her fault.  
  
He waited until the doctor had left his office to visit his patients before sneaking inside. The office wasn’t locked. Maybe because no one thought to lock a doctor’s office thinking that there wouldn’t be anything valuable to steal except for a handful of x-ray slides and patients’ files. Well, Jensen didn’t need those. Once inside, he went straight to the bathroom, confident that what he was looking for would be there. He only found some pairs of white surgical gloves and face masks, quickly pocketing one of each before stepped out to investigate the cupboard that lined the wall instead. He found one near the desk. A doctor always kept a spare white coat in their office for emergencies and such. He quickly donned the coat and put on the face mask, snatching a stethoscope from the doctor’s desk on his way out.  
  
The guard didn’t suspect him. He just nodded at him when Jensen went in before continuing his vigil next to the door. Jensen truly rocked this role playing thing. Perhaps he should try out for a part or two. He’d always wanted a taste of those Hollywood flicks that Jared seemed so fond of.  
  
He left his musings on famous stars’ ways of life outside the door when he caught sight of his girl. She looked skinnier and the light blue hospital gown that she wore hung loosely on her body. She was turned towards the window and away from the door but Jensen knew that the white bandage wrapped around her eyes would prevent her from seeing anything.  
  
Jensen approached slowly so as not to surprise her but his girl seemed content to let the sun warm her face, a little smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. It was an oddly a familiar scene. Cindy had always had a different outlook on the world than most people. She had this unique way of enjoying life in its fine details. He remembered that she would spend hours just looking out of the window overlooking the small garden at their house and write. Her part time job as a columnist of a well known woman’s magazine in the city attributed to that.  
  
Sensing that there was someone in the room with her, Cindy turned her head towards him. “Is it time for my meds already?” Her soft, melodic voice struck deeply into Jensen’s heart. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her, all of his girls, until then.  
  
“Oh, Cindy,” he whispered in an almost reverent tone. Considering what had happened to him the past month, he was just happy that at least one of his girls had survived, albeit with severe injuries but survived nonetheless. So, he was glad.  
  
He sat at her bedside and took her small hand in his seeing burn marks littering her pale skin. They marred several parts of her neck visible above her hospital gown but Jensen was willing to bet that they continued under the gown.  
  
Cindy frowned. “Hannah, what’s wrong?”  
  
Jensen didn’t know who Hannah was but judging from the easy way Cindy spoke to her he could hazard a guess that she was the nurse who’d treated her most of the time. Cindy’s frown got deeper when Jensen failed to answer her and she started to pull her hand from his grasp. Jensen took off his face mask and said. “Cindy, it’s me,” while holding fast to her hand, refusing to let go of the last person that he could trust.  
  
She froze for a few seconds before sitting up and trailing her other hand up his arm. Her touch was tentative as she felt around his face, feeling the shape of his lips and nose, stroking her thumb over his eyes and eyebrows as if trying to reconcile the shape of his face with the memory that she had of him. He could see the exact moment when she recognized him from the small gasp that escaped her lips just seconds before a wide smile bloomed on her face. She buried her fingers in his hair and pulled him down into a tight hug.  
  
“Jensen, oh God, Jensen! You’re alive!” she gasped in his ear.  
  
Jensen grinned and hugged her just as tight, kissing her neck and breathing in the sweet smell of his girl. He felt a familiar sense of kinship when he held her and he knew that his wolf side already considered her family, kin, a member of his pack. He had a vague notion of pack, thanks to his wolf’s instincts when he was freshly turned. He likened it to a family in humans and couldn’t help but think that his father’s organization could also be considered pack even if the only werewolves were him and Jared. Now, he wasn’t so sure. Jared was pack just like Cindy was but what his instinct had told him about Jared was different to what it thought of Cindy. Could it be because Jared was a werewolf while Cindy was human? It was perplexing.  
  
“I thought you were dead,” Cindy cried. “I know that Jeff’s trying his best to look for you but…” she trailed off as she leaned away, grasping Jensen’s face with both hands, steady and firm now that she knew it was really him. “It was bad, Jen. I… I don’t remember much of what happened that night after…,” a sob cut her words, “they’re all dead.”  
  
“It’s okay, baby. You’re okay now. That’s what matters,” soothed Jensen, rubbing her cheek tenderly.  
  
Cindy’s lips turned down and sad as she touched her bandage. It raised a strong feeling of regret and resentful anger in him towards Sheppard and his men. He’d never had any interest in his father’s business before; never felt the need to take over while Jeff maintained it excellently. Now, he vowed to make them pay for what they had done to his girls, to him and to the Ackles family.  
  
Jensen pulled Cindy closer to him and kissed her forehead before drawing her into another hug. “I love you,” he whispered to her and she burst into tears, sobbing pitifully against his chest. ‘You’re the only one I have left that I can safely trust, Cin. Please don’t tell anyone that I’m alive, not even Jeff. Let them think I’m dead.”  
  
“What’re you gonna do?” asked Cindy.  
  
Jensen just held her tighter in reply. “Let’s not worry about that, shall we? You just concentrate on getting better. I haven’t been to the house and I’m not sure if it’s safe for me to return there but I’ll arrange something for you.” He kissed her temple and her lips before getting up.  
  
“Wait, Jen…”  
  
“I’ll swing by again if I can,” Jensen promised. He squeezed Cindy’s hand and waited until the girl nodded before letting go. Just before he reached the door, it was opened from outside and a nurse came in with a tray balanced on her palm. She stopped short when she realized there was another person with her patient in the room.  
  
“I’m sorry, doctor. I didn’t realize there was an examination scheduled this evening,” the nurse said with a suspicious frown.  
  
  
“I’m just leaving,” Jensen said quickly with a placating smile. “Keep up the good work, nurse. She’s doing well,” he said before scurrying out of the room, leaving a confused nurse in his wake.  
  
“Wait!” The nurse cottoned on quickly and put the tray down on the table near the patient’s bed before going after Jensen. She turned to the guard outside the door and pointed her finger towards Jensen’s back. “That man, he’s not a doctor.”  
  
The guard quickly moved to chase after him but by the time he’d turned the corner, Jensen had already gone.

 

  
  
Jensen scowled at the man next to him when he brushed past and almost spilled his beer on his shoulder. Then, instead of walking away, he stopped behind Jensen and chatted loudly with his friend, laughing and waving his beer glass every which way. Jensen was seconds away from snapping at him when the friend pulled him towards a table in the corner. He caught the bartender’s eyes and asked for a refill before changing his mind and asked for the bottle instead.  
  
“Sorry, man, but if you plan on drinking yourself into oblivion then I’ll have to ask for your car keys,” said the bartender who was still, infuriatingly, holding the whiskey bottle out of Jensen’s reach. The bastard!  
  
“Don’t have no car,” Jensen slurred, extending his hand to reach for the bottle.  
  
“Well, if that’s the case then have at it.” The bartender finally let him have the whole bottle to himself from which Jensen drank quickly before a beefy hand grabbed his wrist.  
  
“Whoa! Slow down!” said the bartender, pulling the bottle away from Jensen’s mouth but not taking it away. “The night’s young, dude. Take your time. We’re open till dawn.”  
  
Jensen huffed but stopped drinking directly from the bottle. He felt the bartender’s eyes on him all night, though, probably keeping an eye on his alcohol intake. It was just his luck for picking a watering hole with a nosy bartender who liked to meddle in other people’s business. This kind of establishment was not his usual choice to get smashed. Definitely not his first, second, or even his fifth choice but with regards to recent developments, it would have to do. His usual haunts were out of the question now he'd found out that his sharp hearing couldn’t handle loud noises. The pounding music gave him a headache and the overcrowded mix of scents made his stomach heave. He’d fled before he’d lost his lunch. This out of town hostelry was much quieter with its only music coming from the old jukebox in the corner and not too much human scent mingling in the air, making it easy for him to disregard.  
  
He felt worn out after just a few days among humans. Fighting to rein in his wolf side had proven even more testing here than when he was still prowling the woods. How would he carry out his revenge if he couldn’t even stomach being around them? Despite what he’d promised Cindy he found that he was at a loss as to where to begin, didn’t know who he could trust and couldn’t even access the resources that he used to take for granted. He was not his father and as embarrassing as it was to admit it to himself, he knew that he’d also failed spectacularly at being the son his father had expected. So, except for drowning his liver in and getting smashed beyond belief, there was nothing more he could do.  
  
Suddenly, a man bumped into him as he was just going to take another sip from his whiskey bottle and the jolt made him lose his grip. The sound of the breaking glass was deafening and his tight control on his wolf snapped. He could feel the beast, which had been itching to get out all day, flex its muscle at the prospect of a fight and he turned around slowly. The man who’d bumped into him, a biker who was obviously drunk judging from his swaying, lifted his hand in platitude and slurred his sorry. Jensen didn’t let him finish and swung his fist, cracking the man’s jaw on contact.  
  
The man’s shout was immediately followed by commotion around the bar. Apparently, the drunken man was not alone and now his friends were clearly pissed. Someone cracked a pool cue on the other side of the room and Jensen smirked when a burly man in a leather vest walked over. Jensen noticed that he’d got at least a couple of inches on him as he had to look up a little when he came at him.  
  
“Hey, dickwad! No one messes with my men and gets away with it,” The burly man spat.  
  
Jensen smirked and taunted, “What, you want one too? Get in line, pal.”  
  
The man grabbed Jensen’s shirt and pushed him into the bar where Jensen easily captured his wrist and twisted it before reaching for the back of his head and slamming his forehead into the bar top. Practically the whole bar was involved after that. The patrons who he soon learned knew each other in some kind of way, quickly ganged up on him. Yet, Jensen was having a field day and if his claws nipped some skin or slashed a cheek, well, a little bit of blood couldn’t hurt.  
  
He was in the process of throwing some tall, skinny guy over the pool table when he heard the gunshot and everybody froze.  
  
“I don’t tolerate violence in my bar. If you guys wanna kill each other, do it outside!” growled the bartender, pointing the tip of a rifle at the ceiling and cocking it.  
  
A guy screeched loudly and charged at Jensen, an empty bottle in his hand. Jensen heard its crack against his skull a few seconds before he felt the pain. Jensen was still shaking his head in an attempt to clear the haziness resulting from the blow when the man’s actions prompted the others and they quickly grabbed hold of his arms and dragged him out of the bar; undoubtedly taking the fight outside.  
  
Outside, Jensen managed to kick one of the guys’ kneecap and break it. He grinned triumphantly when he heard the guy’s howl of pain. However, his smug smile didn’t last long as he was swiftly pummelled to the ground, kissing gravel as two men scrambled onto his back. They pulled his head back by his hair and another guy hit him in the face over and over again, cursing.  
  
“You little piece of shit!” the guy swore, “This ought to teach you,” following his words with a punch to Jensen’s cheek.  
  
He could feel that his cheekbone was cracking under the onslaught and thought idly that apparently he was not unbreakable. His werewolf body was stronger and packing more power but still, it took thirty blows for his bone to finally yield, not that it wouldn't mend later. So, he wasn’t worried and the pain was nothing compared to what he’d suffered under Sheppard’s skilled torturer and he’d survived that. This was just enough to numb his conflicted feelings and chaotic mind, really get the fuzzy to hit where he needed it, when the alcohol seemed to fail.  
  
Then, for a split second he thought he saw the glint of a knife and the guy who’d been pummeling him said something. He couldn’t really hear what he was saying over the ringing in his ears. There was something definitely broken in his head. He vaguely registered the absence of weight on his back when a piercing pain surged through it. The knife penetrated his marrow and the pain spread through his bones and leaving him gasping for breath. ‘For fucks sake, he thought, of all the places to die.’  
  
For what felt like hours, but in reality was probably only minutes, Jensen panted and shivered through what he thought of as the last moments of his existence, like a junkie going cold turkey. Then a pair of black combat boots came into his foggy and very limited field of vision. He thought it was one of the bikers coming back to finish what they’d started and he braced for it when the boot guy kneeled down.  
  
Then, it felt as if his life had returned. The pain, although still white hot and searing, had stopped crawling up his spine. The fire had stopped licking his insides like molten lava and his agonizingly constricted lungs were finally able to expand allowing him to take greedy gulps of air. A steel toed boot flipped him on his back, jarring the wound and giving him another jolt of pain on his back.  
  
“Get up!” a female voice hissed above him.  
  
Jensen blinked several times as he tried to focus. It took all his might just to lift his head a couple of inches off the ground. “Easier said than done,” he slurred, slumping back to the ground. “If it’s okay with you I’d like to stay here and sleep until next week, thank you.”  
  
The girl huffed derisively, an ugly sneer on her presumably very pretty face, before taking pity on him and heaving him up like a mere rag doll.  
  
Jensen’s left arm was slung around the girl’s shoulder while his head lolled to the side. He watched his legs drag on the ground bonelessly as the small, yes she was a small girl, held his body in a tight grip and dragged his sorry ass towards a gleaming, black and red motorbike, grumbling all the way.  
  
“If I'd only known how much of a pain you’d be, I wouldn’t have bothered. Don’t care what Kane thought, you’re just a weak, pathetic baby, it’s embarrassing,” grumbled the girl. Huh, he thought, no need to say that out loud, lady. He knew he was useless and had come to terms with it about an hour ago. “Should’ve known, though. Pathetic as a human, pathetic as a werewolf too.”  
  
When they reached the bike, she dumped him on the back of the saddle unceremoniously before undoing his belt. Hey, wait, he loved to play as much as the next guy but he didn’t think it was the time or place. Not to mention that he wasn’t sure if he could perform at the moment. But the girl just pulled his wrists together and tied the belt around them before maneuvering his leg this way and that until he somehow straddled the saddle with his upper body slumped along the length of the bike. She pushed his chest back, got on the bike in front of him and put his arms, bound together at the wrist, around her neck.  
  
“Where’re you takin' me?” slurred Jensen again, because hot girl was one thing, but he still wanted to know if she just planned to kill him or worse send him back to Sheppard. The latter made his frazzled mind nervous. Not because he was afraid but because it’d suck to go back there after all this trouble.  
  
“Shut up! And try not to fall off. I won't pick you up again,” said the girl before the sound of the motor filled the night.  
  
Soon, Jensen was cruising the black top on a fancy motorbike with a hot, feisty woman on the front. It would be much cooler if he wasn't slumped over her back with his head lolling on her shoulder.

  
  



	3. Red Thread

 

 

  
The next time Jensen gained consciousness, he found himself laid up on a thin mattress in a rather dingy looking room.

“Not again,” he groaned and wondered who would come through the door this time. The last time this happened, he’d come face to face with his estranged stepbrother, learned that he’d been turned into a werewolf and basically had a literal life changing moment.

Deciding it was better to just rip the bandage off in one go, he sat up and swung his feet onto the floor; surprised when he found easiness in his movement; the last time he remembered, he’d been glued to the ground by some invisible force. Well, he wouldn’t get any answers by just laying around the almost bare room. So, he took a deep breath and steeled himself.

One glance around the room outside of the bedroom had proven that he at least wasn’t in some kind of a cabin this time around, if the concrete walls and steel pillars were any indication. But, it still didn’t give him any hint of his location. With his luck lately, he’d probably be back in the deep woods at the edge of a cliff somewhere.

There was a sound of murmuring coming from his right and his curiosity led him to a grim looking kitchen with mismatched furniture and out-dated appliances. All the windows were shuttered, so he couldn’t tell if it was still night or the middle of the day. The bulb gave off a soft light despite the grimy environment. The murmuring ceased the moment he stepped into the kitchen. He could feel the tension rise among the three people or rather three werewolves in the room. It was the first time Jensen had met other werewolves besides Jared and he realized he could instantly recognize them. Their scent was different to that of humans. It was richer with a hint of tang and wildness though somehow dull in places where it should be sharp, mellow in places where it should be strong. These were the city wolves.

“Good evening or… morning… whatever…” Jensen trailed off when he saw the cold, indifferent expressions on their faces. “Uhm… thanks for saving me, I guess.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly when there was still no response from them. “Yeah, awkward.”

“Hungry?” asked a man with long dark hair who stood near the kitchen table. “Sit! I’ll have your soup ready in a jiffy.”

Jensen smiled gratefully and stepped farther into the kitchen. The other two werewolves sat at the dining table on the left under a closed window. Further inspection revealed that one of them was the girl from last night, or however many nights ago, he still wasn’t sure of the time lapse. Every time he was knocked unconscious, time seemed eager to get away from him. She had luscious black hair, big brown eyes and thick pouty lips while the girl who sat across from her had auburn hair and a pale complexion. Both scrutinized him with a degree of caution.

Then, the short man with long hair brought a steaming bowl of hot soup to the table. Jensen thought he knew him from somewhere and remembered that the memory that he had of this man was not at all pleasant.

The man didn’t know what had hit him when a full six foot one of Jensen Ackles tackled him to the ground and pummeled his face with both of his trembling fists. Jensen was so enraged that he couldn’t stop his hands from shaking in anger. He didn’t realize when his voice grew deep and guttural; didn’t realize that he’d spread blood all over the kitchen’s wooden floor; that his claws had shredded the man’s face and chest to ribbons and he’d still be doing it if only the two girls hadn’t pulled him back kicking and screaming.

The brunette stabbed a short knife into his abdomen and he froze suddenly. Pain spread from where the knife had stabbed him and he heard her whisper into his ear, “Stay still or I won’t be compelled to let you live this time.” Jensen gasped and she pulled her knife back leaving him sprawled on the wood floor.

Jensen felt around his wound and found it to be nothing more than a flesh wound, not even deep enough to pierce his insides but the pain that it generated was twice as bad as the pain caused by the ice pick Sheppard’s torturer had used. He stared in wonder as his blood flowed sluggishly out of the wound, as if his body had forgotten how to mend itself.

“Oh God, Chris!” screamed one of the girls.

“It’s okay, I’m okay, help me up Danni.”

“Gen?” Danni asked the other girl worriedly.

“He’s okay. Just lost a lot of blood,” the girl said, presumably Gen, calmly. “Come on. Let’s get you out of this mess.”

There were shuffling sounds and a pained groan from the man as both women situated him away from the pool of blood.

“Don’t move, Kane. Let your body heal,” Gen ordered.

“I’ll clean up while you tend to Chris,” offered Danni. “What about the newborn?”

“Let him stew. He’s lucky I didn’t kill him.”

“Yet…” Both girls chuckled and Jensen heard one of them leave the room.

Jensen sat up and pulled his body backwards to lean against the wall next to the dining table. One of the girls was busy tending to the man who was leaning on the wall across from him. Chris? … Kane? Jensen still wasn’t sure what to call him yet, but he was also not in a good condition with blood drenching his T-shirt and jeans and too many slashes and cuts on his face and torso to count. He looked like a victim in a B-movie, which brought great satisfaction to Jensen’s heart. A med kit was opened near his leg and the girl meticulously cleaned his wounds and wiped the blood from his face.

“You were there! At Sheppard’s,” Jensen accused him, panting.

“Yes I was. My name’s Chris Kane. I’m one of Sheppard’s inner circle but what you need to know is that I’m also your dad’s man”.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You see, unlike this lovely lady here, I was turned just like you,” Chris said nodding towards the brunette next to him. “Gerald Padalecki took me in when I was fifteen and confused, took me off the streets and gave me a home. That was, of course, before he was murdered. When Sherri went to the Ackles, I was mad. When your mate’s been murdered you avenge him, you don’t go to the other crime boss in the city but she was adamant. Well, I was young and newly turned, not thinking straight at the time.” Chris paused and winced. The brunette apologized for pressing too hard on a wound. She finished up and repacked the med kit before pushing to her feet and moving to leave the room. The red haired girl returned with a bucket and mop to clean the floor.

“Gen,” Chris called, stopping the brunette. He nodded towards Jensen and she scowled. Jensen didn’t know what they were talking about and certainly didn’t care. What he cared about was why that bastard Chris was still alive. If only his bones didn’t feel like they had been liquefied, he’d have clawed the bastard’s heart out.

The brunette, Gen, huffed and stomped towards Jensen. He eyed her warily when she crouched next to him and reopened the med kit. She pulled out a small bottle with greenish looking liquid inside.

“What’re you gonna do?” Jensen asked nervously when she poured the liquid on his wound. He weakly tried to stop her but she easily caught his wrist, holding it away from the wound. There was a tingling sensation and he watched fascinated as it started to clot and heal. “Wha … what’s that?” asked Jensen, awed.

Gen just glared at him and huffed before repacking the bottle into the med kit and leaving.

“Don’t worry, just a neutralizer. She’s stabbed you with silver. That’s why your wound was only healing slowly. It won’t heal completely unless you neutralize the silver and get it out of your system. Those bikers last night stabbed your back with a pure silver knife. When silver gets into our blood, it poisons us and it’s fatal for us werewolves. Lucky for us, Danni is great with potions. She’s saved my hide too many times to count. So, next time, be careful,” said Chris.

Jensen watched with rapt attention as his wound healed leaving scar free skin under his fingers. When he looked up at Chris, his wounds were also healing nicely. The red headed girl, probably Danni, had finished cleaning the floor and gone to store the equipment leaving the two men in the kitchen.

“So, you were saying?” asked Jensen, prompting Chris to continue his tale.

“Yes, uh, I was angry when she went to your father for help and decided to leave but Sherri made me promise that I’d finish school, at least high school. So, she arranged an apartment for me and paid my expenses but after graduation, I split.”

“Is that why I’ve never seen nor heard of you before? Not even from the brat and he talked a lot back then.” Jensen remembered how Jared could talk a mile a minute without prompting. The maid at their house used to think him cute and gave him cookies while they listened to him babbling about anything and everything; it often drove Jensen mad.

“Jared?” Chris barked out a laughed. “I used to think that that kid had lost some filters between his brain and mouth,” said Chris, shaking in amusement. “But he was still too young at the time, little kids forget easily, you know. I only stayed with his family for a few months and I wasn’t a pleasant person to be with back then, definitely not a pleasant person to be around children. To Jared I was probably just an odd, sulky werewolf that his parents took in.”

“So, what happened, you joined Sheppard then?”

Chris took a deep breath, checking the wounds on his chest and shifted around on the floor into a more comfortable position. “Alan contacted me ten years ago. I dunno how he found me but he did. Werewolves live in packs. That’s how we socialize and communicate with our fellow werewolves but since there aren’t many werewolves in the world, there aren’t many werewolf packs. As far as I know there were only two packs in Texas. One is a village sized pack while the other one, I think, just consists of a few poor sods living together on the bad side of Arlington.”

“Which pack were the Padaleckis in?” Jensen asked.

“They weren’t in a pack, at least not when I went to live with them but I heard from Sherri that they used to be. It wasn’t until after Jared was born that they decided to leave their pack and come to Texas. They never told me why,” Chris added when Jensen opened his mouth to ask.

“Well, with my average GED I could only get work at garages or driving big rigs but I loved fixing cars, so I figured I may as well work at something I enjoyed. There was this garage just off the interstate where I used to fix eighteen wheelers and that was where Alan found me. He told me that Sherri had been murdered by the same man who murdered Gerald, Jared’s father,” Chris elaborated, mostly for Jensen’s benefit.

“Alan told me that Jared didn’t wanna stay in his house without his mother and he was worried that Sheppard’s men would take revenge on him while he wasn’t under the protection of the Ackles family. So, he offered me a deal. The best way to spy on Sheppard’s organization was from the inside, so I joined the underground crime world, made a name for myself while Alan spread rumors about my so called viciousness and soon I was embraced within their inner circle. I got to spy on them from the inside and averted their attention away from Jared as best as I could. Of course, when Sheppard walked out of the cooler all bets were off.

“The moment he got you in his basement, I thought I was gonna have to kill you for fear that you’d spill the secret that your father had kept all that time but I gotta hand in to ya, kid. You held out much longer than I thought you would. So I thought that despite your apparent douchiness you deserved a second chance. Maybe with the right incentive you’d do the right thing and take over what had been your birthright.”

“Why d’you want me to take over my father’s business? What d’you care?” shot Jensen with a hint of indifferent in his voice.

“The wellbeing of our kind,” answered Chris.

Jensen frowned but before he could utter a question, Chris continued, “Sheppard is suspicious about our kind. He doesn’t know about me being a werewolf but he suspects that there are werewolves hiding among humans and that Gerald was somehow the leader although he’s never been able to prove it. His assumption is, of course, wrong just like everything that he thought about us.”

“But why? Why would he be so interested in finding werewolves?”

“The main reason is for power; the other is for money. What do you think he’d do if he could get us to work for him? A lot of things and none of them good.”

“He’d rule the Dallas underground or even take over Texas,” Jensen guessed.

“And he’d have no qualms about killing us all if we refused to cooperate. He’d enslave us and sell us to every dirty high-baller in the US.”

“Or to experiment with our power and create super humans,” Jensen interjected.

“You’ve been playing too much video games, kid,” Chris deadpanned. Jensen just shrugged. He did love playing those first-person-shooter games and most of them had the same storyline.

“Is that the real reason why he killed Jared’s dad?” asked Jensen, his curiosity definitely piqued.

“One of the reasons, yes, but also because Gerald was a genius son of a gun.”

“The Hive software, I know.”

“Yeah,” Chris nodded and smiled at him, looking impressed. “So, I distracted John, your torturer,” he paused and Jensen rolled his eyes. “Long enough to get you out of the basement and drove miles out into the woods. I wasn’t sure whether you’d survive my bite or not but I thought that if you did survive then it’d be better for you to be in the wilderness, to get in touch with your nature. Couldn’t have a new born wandering around Dallas scaring people, could I?” said Chris with a smirk.

“Bastard,” Jensen scowled.

“And I was right! A week later I went to the same place I’d dumped your mangled body and found you gone and the trace of another werewolf with you. I tracked the scent back to a lone cabin deep in the woods but found it empty. Guessed the werewolf who saved you had taken you in or moved you somewhere else.”

Jensen was quiet for several minutes. Just gathering the information and mulling it over in his head. He noticed that the wounds on Chris’ body had completely healed and he’d also regained his mobility but it seemed both of them were content to just sit there and think. Jensen didn’t know what was in the other man’s head but he certainly had a lot to digest, lots of things raging in his mind that he didn’t know how to make head or tails of. Finally he settled for a simple confession.

“It was Jared,” mumbled Jensen.

“What?” asked Chris, raising his eyebrows.

Jensen sighed. “Jared’s the one who found me but I ran away and lived alone in the woods for almost a month.

“Weird. What was he doing there?” Chris frowned.

Jensen felt too uncomfortable to remember what had transpired between him and Jared that night and was worried that Chris would ask more, so he changed the subject and asked him the first thing that came to mind.

“Wait a minute, you didn’t recognize Jared’s scent? You said you were taken in by the Padaleckis. The first thing I noticed when I first shifted was the smell. I can pick up scents however far away and faint they are and I tell you, man, do humans stink or what? I threw up the first time I came into the city.”

Chris barked out a laugh and Jensen couldn’t help but chuckle along with him. “Man, I remember the first time I shifted too. Good times!” Chris guffawed, rolling on the floor. Thankfully Danni had cleaned the floor thoroughly. It was several minutes before he could talk without laughing. “Seriously, the last time I saw Jared in person was when he was like, yea high and a snot-nosed little ball of energy,” said Chris lifting his hand about two and a half inches off the floor.

“I left my old garage right after I accepted your dad’s offer because I needed a new untraceable record for my initiation into the crime world. Mr. and Mrs. Kowalski, lovely people by the way but totally human, owned the garage. They agreed to take Jared in and since Jared would be in school most of the time, I didn’t think it would be a problem if he stayed with them during breaks.”

“You mean the old couple who picked Jared up from our house? My dad told me they’re Jared’s relatives from his mom’s family,” Jensen commented as he remembered the couple whom he saw talking with Jared after his mother’s funeral, ten years ago.

“Yeah, that was them. They’re good people and quite lonely with no children of their own. Trust me when I say that Jared brought joy into their house more than the other way around. After he finished drama school, the Kowalskis told me that he wanted to go to Hollywood to become a movie star. I thought it was too dangerous and not to mention that LA was a whole ‘nother state but the kid was adamant. Damn stubborn-little-pup!” Chris cussed but the fond smile that pulled the corner of his lips betrayed him. “I contacted Alan and he promised that he’d look after the kid for me. I’m glad that it worked out.”

“No, it wasn’t him,” whispered Jensen but apparently it was still loud enough for Chris’ werewolf ears to hear.

“What was that?” Chris asked.

“My father had been ill at the time. He had been for quite a while, so it was me who put together the security detail for him and who’s been assisting him with his foray into Tinsel Town,” Jensen said, defiantly meeting Chris’ dark eyes with his own stubborn ones.

  


 

**Somewhere in LA, a few weeks later …**

Kim Rhodes pulled the curtain closed and turned to him. “I don’t see anything,” she said, shaking her head.

“He’s there. I’m sure of it,” muttered Jared distractedly while he tried his best to concentrate on the script in his hand. There was a scene on page seven that he would need to talk to the director about next Monday.

“Well, if you’re sure, why don’t you call the police? I can do that for you,” offered Kim.

“No, that’s not really necessary. Just let it go,” Jared said, turning another page and promptly raising his eyebrows. The writers had really gone all out this season. But then again, he shouldn’t be surprised when he saw that it was one of the female writers. Seriously, this woman could always find a way to make him shed his clothes. The fans would sure have a field day when the episode aired.

Kim let out a frustrated sigh. “Jared, a few days ago, you told me that there was someone tailing you and now you call me in the middle of the night saying that there’s someone in front of your house and I can’t see anyone there.” Kim waved her hand towards the window before throwing her body on the couch in front of Jared. “Seriously, you’ve been acting odd ever since you returned from that vacation a couple of months ago,” Kim said, frowning. “Did something happen?”

Jared shifted in his loveseat. He’d been meaning to tell Kim about Jensen, particularly about what had happened between them at the cabin but he kept putting it off for selfish reasons. The less people that knew about it the better. He’d been spending the last few weeks trying to bury that memory in the deepest and darkest corner of his mind. He wouldn’t let it even sniff fresh air until the end of time if he could help it.

“You can’t lie to me, you know? I don’t understand why you keep doing it when you know very well that I can see right through you. Do you think I’m stupid?” Kim snapped. Jared could practically feel her glare from across the table. “Or maybe you think I don’t know you that well. I’m hurt, Jared!”

Jared took a deep breath before speaking, smartly concealing the annoyed tone in his voice. “On the contrary, I hate the fact that you know me so well because it means you can bully me emotionally whenever you please just to get your way.”

Kim’s smile was far too smug for Jared’s liking, he wanted to just tell her to get lost and leave him alone but he couldn’t do that. Kim had been his best friend and confidant ever since he’d ventured out on his own chasing his dream. Despite its sparkling bright lights and boisterous extravagance, Hollywood was a scary place, especially for impressionable youngsters. Jared considered himself lucky that he’d met Kim early on in his career.

“Kim, please don’t take it personally. It isn’t anything against you, I promise. I just need some time to sort myself out,” Jared implored, utilizing his wounded puppy look to its fullest. But apparently Kim was serious this time because she narrowed her eyes at him and pressed her lips into a thin line. It was a look that Jared had long associated with a very upset and not to be trifled with Kim Rhodes.

“Not too long,” Kim insisted.

“Yeah, sure-”

“Jared, filming starts next Monday. I don’t want to hear about this mysterious fan of yours again during filming. _Capisce_?”

Jared nodded. “Yeah, sure, no problem.”

”Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna crash in your guest room because someone kindly disturbed my sleep with his frantic calling and made me drive ten miles in the middle of the night,” Kim grumbled as she got up from the couch and headed upstairs.

“I’m sorry, Kim-”

“Save it. Just concentrate on your lines and we’re awesome.”

“Love ya!” Jared shouted towards the stairs.

“Yeah, yeah… ” she replied with a dismissive wave and Jared chuckled because he knew she wouldn’t be able to stay mad at him for long.

He stretched his arms, feeling the crick in his neck from sitting too long in one place. He’d received the script that morning and had spent the majority of the day reading it but so far he’d made zero progress getting into the feel of it. Playing Sam Hawkins and bringing his character to life on screen was not an easy feat. The guy had a stack of emotional baggage as high as Mount Elbrus and an inability to express himself. Most of the conflict of the story stemmed from inside this character’s head, and it didn’t help that the writers and showrunner loved to twist things up. He had to admit that they were a bunch of brilliant people but Jared had been trying hard all last season to nail Sam down. Just when he finally thought he had him down pat, the plot turned sideways and veered in a direction he’d never expected. But he couldn’t complain. The show had been a tremendous break for him; a step up for his career, and he knew that it was mostly due to the tight script and professionalism of the people who worked behind the scenes. He was merely a pawn in this industry.

Jared laid his head on the back rest of his loveseat, turning towards the window. He could still feel a faint pull thrumming beneath his skin. It was as if an invisible thread had been sewn into his skin and now something or someone was tugging on it, beckoning him to follow. He could feel his wolf getting restless and he was sure it would break free and chase after that thread, like a moth to a flame, if he didn’t rein it in hard. There was not enough hate in the world to describe how he felt towards Jensen at that moment. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth in frustration as he stomped down on another spike of longing. He nearly had a heart attack when it lashed back at him with a vengeance because just like him, his wolf was nothing if not stubborn.

He understood what a mate meant. Hell, he was raised with a romantic idea of a werewolf mate; someone who would complete him absolutely and who would be able to meet him equally. When he’d asked his mother what he should do if his supposedly perfect werewolf mate didn’t like him, if he or she chose others, she said, ‘An Omega makes his own Alpha, Jared, not the other way around. They don’t get to choose. You’ll make him yours no matter what and he won’t have a say.’ An odd bit of advice but it was the only one his mother had had to offer. She’d told him that an Omega was a very rare creature; a rarity within the rarity of Werewolf kind. How, he wondered, would he find this perfect mate if his own kind was such a rarity?

Jared dragged his attention back to the script; trying to concentrate on how Sam would react when faced with the ghost of his bleak  
past. After half an hour reading the same page over and over again and having no more understanding of his character than an hour ago, he finally gave up and threw the script on the table in disgust. He’d better call it a night and go to sleep. He wasn’t able to concentrate anyway, with his senses pulled so tight and his wolf instincts on overdrive. It was one of the reasons why he’d called Kim that night; to keep him company and distract him from making a fool of himself, by running out there and throwing his lusty ass at that fucking Alpha, begging him to take him hard and rough. Most of the time, he could reign it in but at times like this, when that bastard was hanging around outside his house and enticing him with his Alpha scent, it drove him mad.

“Let’s see who goes crazy first, you arrogant piece of knothead!” Jared sneered towards the window. He’d rather die, burned to ashes with want rather than surrender to Jensen, not to him, not to his stepbrother.

 

  



	4. Blood Rain

 

  
The first impression Jensen had gotten when he had a chance to explore Chris’ abode was that it was bare. The three Werewolves lived in a two storey warehouse, where the second floor consisted of two bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room while the first floor was left empty except for a small section in the corner that was full of mechanic’s tools. They had two motorcycles and a pick-up truck. Genevieve was fixing one of the bikes, the one she’d used when she’d found him, while Chris was using the other one to scout Jensen’s house.

“So, you never told me how you found me the other night,” Jensen asked, acting nonchalant with his long legs dangling over the end of the truck bed, watching as Gen worked diligently on the bike. She had rolled her jet black hair in a messy up do and wore a black tank top and short torn jeans. Grease smeared on her cheeks and forehead and dirtying both her arms.

Jensen thought that she wouldn’t answer the question but then she started talking. “Kane wasn’t sure if you were alive or dead, but when we heard about the wolf attack in the woods a couple of weeks ago, we started to connect the dots and decided it was probably you. So, we tried to follow your trail. Then Danni suggested that we hung around the hospital just in case you went to see the whore-”

“Hey, watch it!” Jensen cut in, pointing his finger at her but she just rolled her eyes.

“Well, she is,” Gen grumbled under her breath and Jensen narrowed his eyes at her. She resumed her tinkering with the bike, pulling off the plugs and cleaning them. “Danni was there when you came hightailing it out of there but she wasn’t quick enough and lost you. You’re quite nimble on your feet, aren’t you,” Gen said. Jensen was sure there was praise in there somewhere. “She called me and we expanded our search perimeter around the hospital, thinking that you wouldn’t have wanted to go too far away. You didn’t have anywhere to go and she’s the only one you knew you could trust. We thought you’d want to stay in touch with her. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not that easy to find a werewolf by their scent alone. Imagine riffling through thousands of scents in a crowded city. You’d have a headache before you even got to the one you wanted. There’s a reason why we learn to dim our senses.”

“Noted,” said Jensen nodding. “Not depending on your senses only; use your brain if you want to survive the city.”

It was funny. At first, out of the two girls, Gen was the most unwelcoming but she quickly warmed up to him when he showed a genuine interest in learning everything about werewolves and pack life, while Danni was still keeping her distance from him. Gen said that was because she didn’t trust easily. Danni was turned when she was still a young girl and had to live on the streets for a while before she met Chris. Apparently, Danni was good with potions and an expert at making poisons. She was also the one who mixed their silver neutralizer or the one that she called the antidote. While Danni and Chris were turned, Gen was born and raised a werewolf. Thus, Jensen started to hang out with Gen any chance he got. The girl had a plethora of knowledge on Werewolf lore.  
The warehouse’s rolling doors were pushed open from outside and Chris drove in. He parked the bike near the truck and went back to close them. Jensen jumped off the truck, meeting Chris halfway.

“So, how is it?” Jensen asked.

“It was mostly empty. There were some signs of B & E, breaking and entering,” Chris elaborated, “but no bodies. I count that as a win.”

“Sheppard’s probably got his men watching my house, just in case I return there,” Jensen thought out loud. He jammed his hands into his jeans’ pockets and paced back and forth in front of the truck.

“Sheppard’s men have turned that place upside down. I don’t think they’ll be back again. Not when Sheppard’s concentrating his resources on threatening every business owner this side of Dallas. He thinks you’re dead, remember?” Chris said.

“Hmm, let’s keep it that way but I still think we need a safer place,” Jensen paused to look at Chris and Gen, who had stopped tinkering with her bike in favor of joining the discussion. “If you guys are still coming…”

“Sure!” Chris agreed and Genevieve nodded her head. “I promised your father, after all. I’m a werewolf; I stick with my own kind.”

“Me too and I’m sure Danni thinks the same,” Gen said.

Chris stood in front of him. “Now that that’s settled, what’s your plan?”

“Revenge obviously, but I need to gather my resources before I begin anything. Attacking Sheppard empty handed would be suicide. I just don’t know who to trust. The family seems to be falling apart at the seams... I never knew…” Jensen said shaking his head.

“Is there anyone in the family that you can trust? They can’t all be betraying you,” Chris said.

Then, Jensen remembered their family house where most of the staff were long time family members who very rarely left the house. “My father’s house; the Ackles ancestral home. We can go there but my lawyer holds the deeds.”

“How come?” Chris asked, frowning.

Jensen sighed. “I’d never shown any intention of leading the organization, so my father hadn’t trusted me enough to leave everything to me. I still inherit the wealth and the organization but I let Jeff run the mob angle and deal with the business.”

“I heard someone in the police force was asking about you, threatening low level gangsters to gain information about your possible kidnapping. I managed to corner him, rough him up a bit and found out that Jeff Morgan has been looking for you. Despite the odds, he was convinced that you were somehow still alive and was determined to find you,” Chris told Jensen.

“Guess I need to visit Jeff, after all. Shake him up a little and see if he’s really loyal or not.”

“And if he turns out to be a mole? You gonna kill him?” Chris asked. There was something in Chris’ voice that got Jensen’s hackles up.

“Not before I get everything I want from him.” Jensen looked at Chris, noticing the doubt in the older man’s eyes and not liking it one bit. He slowly stepped closer towards him and stared him down. “I know how to threaten people to get what I want, Chris. In case you forget, I was raised by a mob boss. Killing has never been a big deal to me and I don’t tolerate traitors, ever. They’re weak, cowards and always run at the first sign of danger. And if Jeff’s a traitor, it’ll be easy to get him to cooperate with me because he’ll only be thinking of saving his own hide.”

They stared at each other for a few moments before Chris blinked and the doubt was gone from his eyes. The corner of his lips pulled in a crooked smile as he slapped Jensen’s shoulder a couple of times. He nodded at him and said, “Alright, then. Call me if you need anything. I got your back.”

Chris strode across the garage, headed to the stairs as he reached for something in his jeans pocket and threw it at Gen who caught it easily. It was a bike key. “That baby runs awesomely. I think you’re getting better,” Chris praised. “Keep up the good work, kid!”

Gen grinned proudly at the compliment.  Jensen didn’t know why but he felt like he’d just passed some kind of test. He turned to look at Genevieve and saw her shrug her shoulders, offering him a smile.

  


  
Jeff closed the door to his fifth floor apartment with a sigh. He navigated his home in darkness as it suited his gloomy mood that night, letting just the city lights illuminate his living room. It had been a few months and there was still no word about Jensen’s whereabouts or if the boy was even alive. His search for him had not been fruitful either and he was so tired of Carlson’s incompetent excuses that he wondered why Alan had employed him in the first place. The guy was beyond useless, it was a wonder he’d been made a cop at all, let alone a detective. He also hadn’t shown up at their meeting place which irked Jeff no end. How dare the fucker stand him up like that!

“Fuck!” Jeff swore under his breath and threw his briefcase on the couch. He loosened his tie and took off his designer coat before throwing them haphazardly on top of his briefcase. He glanced at the minibar in the corner of the living room and decided to drink his problem away with expensive liquor just because he could.

He walked determinedly towards the bar and flicked on the lamp near the shelf, eyes narrowing in on a bottle of single-malt whiskey that he’d got from an associate just last month. Opting to drink the liquor from its bottle, Jeff pulled out the stopper and took a sip. “Hmm… not bad.”

A larger sip was burning all the way down his throat, when a sudden gruff voice took him by surprise almost causing him to drop the ridiculously expensive stuff.

“Bad day?” asked a voice from behind Jeff.

Jeff was not someone to scare easy. Having a mafia family behind him made him immune to threats and had got him used to danger but the chill atmosphere that was brought on by that cold gravelly voice inevitably made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He quickly put the bottle of the expensive whiskey on the bar before turning around slowly. He knew that the apartment was highly secure and that his front door had still been firmly locked before he’d entered, so it should have been impossible for someone to break in.

The apartment remained quiet. Jeff swept the room with narrowed eyes as he tried to peer through the darkness. He regretted not turning on the light earlier as the small lamp by his bar could only light one side of the living room while the other side remained in darkness.

“Who’s there?” Jeff called out, hand creeping under the bar for the hidden drawer where he kept a gun. The Smith & Wesson magnum felt safe and heavy in his hand. He gripped it tight as he continued to squint around the half lit room.

Jeff lifted up the gun with both hands and faced the room daringly. “Show yourself! I have a gun and I’m not afraid to use it,” he threatened.

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll have a chance to be afraid if I really want to kill you,” said the gruff voice, half amused.

From the dark corner between his bedroom and the living room, just behind a bookshelf, a silhouette of a man moved slightly. Jeff quietly berated himself for not noticing him sooner.

The man chuckled. “No need to blame yourself if you can’t see me. After all, you’re only human.”

“Who’re you?!” Jeff yelled, adjusting his grip on the gun training the muzzle towards the intruder.

The long, tense silence that followed made Jeff think the intruder had left his apartment without him knowing. But then something moved in the dark a second before the dim light of the bar fell on the shadow of a man, illuminating his face just enough that Jeff was able to recognize him.

“Jensen?” Jeff asked in a surprise and disbelief. He blinked a couple of times and shifted his stance, taking a couple of cautious steps to the side hoping for a better angle in order to see the man better, still with the gun at the ready. “Son, is that you?”

“It’s been a while, eh? When was the last time we saw each other, we’ve hardly talked other than on the phone? Surely you still remember my face,” said the intruder. The humorous tone could be detected easily in his voice but somehow Jeff couldn’t bring himself to lower his guard.

Now that he came out into the light, Jeff could clearly see his face and was sure that the man in front of him was none other than his boss’ missing son. He looked healthy considering, a little bit pale and still with too many freckles but there was also this fierceness in his nature.

“Dammit, boy! You almost gave me a heart attack,” Jeff groused as he lowered the gun and stepped closer to him. He reached out and pulled the boy in for a hug and felt a little bit of the weight lift from his shoulders. He thumbed the broad, muscular back twice before leaning back to study him. “God, it’s so good to see you!” He grinned when Jensen smiled and turned around to sling an arm around the boy’s shoulders, steering him to the bar.

He put the firearm on top of the bar, swapping it for the forgotten bottle of malt whiskey he’d abandoned before and took out a couple of shot glasses from the shelf. Pouring almost half a glass of the fiery liquid into each, he offered one to Jensen. “Drink with me, Jensen! We should celebrate your return with the best liquor that money can buy.”

“My father’s money, you mean?”

Jeff snorted, “And who d’you think helped your father procure half of it?” Jeff shoved the shot glass into Jensen’s hand and drank his own before pouring out another two fingers of the high quality whiskey. He felt so glad he couldn’t stop smiling. Granted, he probably needed to demand an explanation for the boy’s disappearing act but hell, he’d get to that later.

The boy smiled at him and lifted the shot glass to his lips, sipping leisurely. There was something feral in that smile. Something that felt oddly dangerous if combined with the way Jensen carried himself. Jeff grinned widely and toasted, “To the return of the prodigal son!” He downed the drink in one gulp before pouring another shot and waiting for Jensen to finish his toast more sedately.

“Not bad,” said Jensen with a nod.

“Are you kidding me? It’s good stuff!” proclaimed Jeff as he lifted the bottle with flourish, gesturing to Jensen’s glass and pouring him another measure. Walking around Jensen, he took the glass and the bottle and threw himself heavily on the couch.

From there and with Jensen stood under the only source of light in the room, Jeff could observe him more closely. The boy leaned his back casually against the bar, fingers playing with the shot glass, tipping the contents this way and that. The fact that he looked healthy enough with no visible injuries made him question if Carlson had even told him the truth. The detective had reported to him a few weeks ago that he’d caught a whiff of a rumor from around Sheppard’s men that they’d somehow had Ackles’ son in their clutches for a while but he couldn’t prove a thing. He found it hard to believe that Sheppard had had Jensen for any amount of time and had done nothing to the boy. “So, tell me Jensen. Where the hell have you been?”

Jensen took his time to answer, not drinking the second shot but instead putting the glass on the bar and tracing the rim with his fingers. The light from the bar caused a strange glint in Jensen’s eyes that made Jeff wonder if the yellowish glare was just his imagination.

“I’m sure you know what happened to me a couple of months ago,” answered Jensen. “Tell me Jeff, how much does Sheppard pay you? Or was treachery in your resume when you first applied to work with my father?”

He felt hot indignation bloom rapidly and he clenched his fingers around the whiskey bottle furiously. He knew that he’d played a dangerous game. To be a ruthless and devious lawyer was one thing but he’d never been accused of treachery before.

“I suggest you think before you say something you’ll regret, son.”

“I’m not your son.” Jensen snorted.

“And I’m glad you aren’t because I’d be washing that mouth of yours out with hot coals for even contemplating that blasphemy.”

“Are you or aren’t you betraying my father by selling me to that slimy bastard?!” shouted Jensen.

Jeff sucked a breath in when the sound of the breaking glass echoed louder in the quiet apartment than Jensen’s angry shout. He eyed the irate boy in front of him with the air of an annoyed parent. Worry whispered in his ear when he saw Jensen’s bloody hands dripping blood on the tile floor and shards of broken glass strewn around his booted feet.

“Still haven’t changed one bit, have you?” Jeff drawled mockingly. Knowing too well that his tone would aggravate the boy more but he’d be dammed if he would be intimidated by a snot nosed kid who thought he could pull a damn tantrum in his living room just because he’d had a run in with a crazy mob boss for a few weeks. Well, boo the fuck hoo! “So, you got nabbed by the crazy Brit. Still doesn’t make it right for you to come to a man’s house and make a mess in his living room just to satisfy your childish urge for a temper tantrum.”

“I can kill you right now,” snarled the boy. Damn! That was some impressive growl he’d got there. When did his voice get that deep and gravely, anyway?

“I know you can,” Jeff waved him off, almost dispassionately. He was glad that his hand didn’t tremble. “I wouldn’t be working for the mob if I couldn’t take a threat or two.” Then, he leaned forward to put his hands on his knees while looking at Jensen with the utmost gravity he could muster. Letting the kid know that he meant business. “Listen, kid. I maybe not the nicest man in the block; never was, never goin’ to be, but I know a thing or two about loyalty. I could’ve left this family behind when your father died a year ago. Could’ve left it in the dust, high and dry while you were high on the latest brand of crack or buried deep in one of your whore’s wet cunts, but I didn’t.”

He heard the growl get louder and were they fangs he saw there? He could have sworn he saw sharp teeth between Jensen’s snarling lips just a few seconds ago. Apparently the amount of alcohol he’d consumed that night had already had some effect on him.

“You let the family flounder and the business suffer!” accused Jensen.

Jeff rolled his eyes exasperatedly. This kid, he swore, was unbelievable! “Hey, I’m not the boss. I’m not the one who gives the orders to kill people. I’m the one who helps hide the body and cover up the evidence. So, unless you get your act together I suggest you stow your crap and whine somewhere else.”

Jensen’s glare couldn’t be called anything but murderous and Jeff thought for a second that the kid was really going to kill him. After all, his gun was still there on top of the bar and the kid could just grab it and shoot him. Kind of stupid really to leave a dangerous weapon lying around like that.

“I want full access to my father’s estate and fortune, his connections and business cartel.”

“All yours!” Jeff readily agreed. “Anything else?”

“You better not be lying or holding out on me or you’ll die in the most excruciating way, wishing I’d killed you now,” Jensen hissed. Jeff would be lying if he said he didn’t shudder, the room somehow felt colder and goosebumps had risen on the back of his neck. His voice totally did not waver when he said,

“Of course. You got my word.”

Jensen just looked at him for a few intense seconds as if gauging his sincerity and Jeff was kind of nervous to be found lacking. He had to admit that this new Jensen was a little bit, okay it was a lot, more intimidating than the previous bratty version. He was still bratty and annoying, sure, but there was this intense ferocity about him that Jeff wouldn’t dream of provoking again.

After a few tense seconds, Jensen blinked and started to move. His boots made a crunching sound as they walked over the broken shards of glass towards one of Jeff’s windows. Jeff reacted a couple of seconds too late when the kid just opened the sash and jumped out.

“Fuck!” Jeff ran over and peered over the window sill and found nothing, not even the bloody, mangled corpse of a boy that should have been splattered on the pavement four floors below. He closed the window firmly and wondered if his meeting with the lost son of Alan Ackles was nothing but a dream but the broken shards littered across his tiled floor in front of his bar proved otherwise. Still in shock and bewilderment, Jeff’s gaze then fell on the half full bottle of whiskey next to the foot of the couch and thought, what the hell! He’d just as well finish that bottle and deal with it in the morning.

  


Jensen got the proof of Jeff’s words when his reclaiming of the Ackles family house went without fanfare. The lawyer even forwarded him the legal papers concerning his father’s estate and business dealings and also all of the account books for the illegal commerce. Unlike Jensen’s town house that had been completely ransacked by Sheppard’s goons as soon as he was captured, the family’s main house remained intact. His father must have had his most loyal men enforcing the security around the property, so no matter how hard he tried Sheppard would never be able to penetrate it. Built on solid ground with hard concrete walls and steel fences all around, it was a perfect safe house for him and his new pack. The surrounding woods that encircled the huge backyard were his as well, he remembered his father buying them soon after Jared and his mom had come to stay with them.

One unexpected folder was found among the files that Jensen received from Jeff. It was the copy of Cindy’s medical records. It turned out that Jeff had been taking care of his girl in his absence and he was probably the one who’d put that guard dog in front of her hospital room. He also found the Medical Power of Attorney which named him as the decision maker for Cindy’s health care. He didn’t know how Jeff had managed it but he was pleased nonetheless and made a mental note to arrange for Cindy’s transfer to his house as soon as the hospital released her.

As he was putting Cindy’s folder in one of the drawers in his desk, formerly his father’s, the door to his office was opened and Chris came strutting in. Jensen raised his eyebrow at him and he stopped a short few steps off the desk.

“What? Why’re you looking at me like that?”

“Would it bother you to knock before you enter?” Jensen chided.

“Oh, sorry, I …” Chris trailed off before averting his eyes and looking down. “I’ll remember next time.”

“You do that.” Jensen flipped his laptop screen towards Chris. “You know about this?”

Chris stepped closer to the desk as Jensen waited for him to finish reading. “Where did you get this?”

“My father left me a memory card in his will. I didn’t want to think about it at the time, just shoved the box of stuff he left me inside my bedside drawer in my old room. Until recently I thought I’d never return to this place, after the day the old man went to the big ranch in the sky. Imagine my surprise when I found this on the card. Did you know about this when he contacted you?”

Chris frowned. “No. Although, I found out myself later on. Remember the big fire in Arlington’s industrial park about ten years ago? Just before Sheppard got arrested? It made the news as the biggest fire this century.”

Jensen remembered. He remembered it clearly because just two days later he’d got sent home to attend Sherri’s funeral. You don’t forget that kinda thing. “Yeah, I remember. What about it? Did Sheppard have a hand in it?”

“Have a hand in it?” Chris’ tone rose, eyes wide as he waved his hands about explaining. “He owned that warehouse. It was one of his hidden drug labs. The biggest if I recall, but of course he has it covered up so neatly that even after it blew up good the government still couldn’t find a link that connected him to it, but your father knew. It wasn’t just drugs that were mixed in that lab. Apparently Sheppard had a small lab hidden in the basement of that warehouse for studying werewolves.”

“What?!” Jensen gaped, sitting straighter in his seat. “I thought when you said about Sheppard’s suspicion it was only, well, a suspicion alone, nothing more concrete. You didn’t tell me that he already has a lab researching our kind!”

Chris shook his head, pacing back and forth in front of Jensen’s desk with both hands in his jean’s pockets. “It was just a year ago that I found out about it. Heard some of Sheppard’s inner circle talking about it one time. From what I heard, Sheppard had met a werewolf once and I don’t know where this werewolf is now but he managed to get a blood sample somehow and recruited a couple of researchers to study it. I don’t think he got very far because the blood sample was old and it was the only source they had…”

“Was it Jared’s dad?” Jensen asked.

Chris stopped his pacing and looked at Jensen, contemplating his words as if the thought had only then crossed his mind. “Dunno. But if it was then it explains why Sheppard was so hell bent on getting his hands on him.” Chris tilted his head as his eyes became unfocused. “Also explains why Sherri insisted on seeking asylum with the Ackles,” he muttered.

“It explains everything, Chris. My father’s over protectiveness towards Jared and now this,” Jensen said gesturing to his computer screen again.

Chris glanced at the laptop screen and nodded his head slowly. “Yeah, it looks like you got all the results of their research. This is the thing that Sheppard wanted to get from you the other day.”

“You mean when he tortured me?”

“Yes. When I learned about the secret lab I called your father to confirm it and he assured me that the lab had been destroyed and the researchers were all dead. He told me not to worry about the secret data concerning their research as he had it covered. Of course, the first thing Sheppard asked his men when he walked out of the joint was if they had retrieved the data from the basement lab. He knew that your father had got it.”

“Makes fucking sense,” Jensen huffed. Then, another thought crossed his mind. “Is Jared really in danger then?”

“Sheppard already had a beef with the Padaleckis because of the Hive software. If this research has any connection with Gerald Padalecki too then …” Chris shrugged, forcing Jensen to come to his own conclusion.

“Damn it!” Jensen swore.

 

  
**Somewhere near the Northern California coastal forests…**

 

Someone was banging on the door to his trailer and Jared looked up from his script. “Come in!”

A young girl with mussed up blond hair entered. “Hey, Jay-Jay! They said they’ll pick us up in half an hour. Can I crash here?” Without waiting for Jared’s answer she plopped down on the couch next to him.

“Sure Alona, make yourself at home.” Jared scooted over, giving her more room.

Alona was Jared’s new co-star for the season. The producer hoped that her character would be well received by the audience so that they could cast her as a regular next season if the show was renewed. Jared liked her as a working partner. Alona was smart and quick witted and she got along famously with the crew despite the fact that she’d only been on the set a couple of months.

“Hey Jay, may I turn your TV on?” Alona asked, touching Jared’s arm.

Jared quickly dislodged her hand to reach the remote on the small table on his side of the couch and gave it to her. “Sure, here you go.”

“But if you wanna read the script …”

“No, no, it’s okay. I’m just brushing up a little on my part.”

“Okay!”

Another thing about Alona, she was an affectionate girl, even more so than Jared and Jared was an Omega. She bounced onto whatever set they had for the day, greeting everyone with big smiles and hugging the life out of Jared and anyone within the vicinity. Just like what she did at the moment, slumping on Jared’s couch watching TV with her head leaning on Jared’s bicep, commenting about the commercials.

“Oh my God!” Alona suddenly shrieked and sat up straighter on the couch, attention riveted to the TV.

“What? What is it?” asked Jared in alarm as he quickly abandoned the script and whipped his head towards the petite girl next to him who was gaping at Jared’s TV, or more specifically at the news broadcasted by one of the celebrity gossip shows.

“That’s Jensen Ackles! Oh My God!”

Hearing that name made Jared’s pulse jump in his veins and his heart skipped three beats. He quickly turned towards the TV and there he was, Jared’s stepbrother, stepping out of a sleek black car with two gorgeous women hanging off his arms, looking smug and every bit the pompous son of a mob boss. They were seen entering a high class nightclub that catered mainly to the rich and famous of Dallas. The show host was chattering about the surprise visit of one of Texas’ most eligible bachelors and sounding as excited as Alona. Jared couldn’t roll his eyes any harder.

“… It is rumored that the surprise appearance of the Dallas heartthrob in front of one of the top clubs in the big D was to announce his return to the business world by _officially_ taking over Daddy’s throne as one of Texas’ most influential power brokers. Ackles, who used to be known as a spoiled and promiscuous young man, always living his life fast and hard with a dash of hedonism thrown in, is now determined to prove that he can be as good, if not better, than his father, the late Alan Ackles. Now …”

Jared tuned out the rest of the news and reached for his abandoned script near his feet. He had two scenes to cover today and really needed to get into Sam Hawkins’ mindset before they were called to the set.

“Didn’t he die in that explosion at that nightclub a couple of months ago? It made huge news back then,” Alona mused aloud before turning her wide blue eyes on Jared.

“Guess he didn’t.” Jared shrugged. Seeing his stepbrother on TV wasn’t the same as seeing him in person and Jared found it easy to dismiss the attraction when he hadn’t seen his face on the screen.

Jared had been burying himself in work for the last few weeks just to distract himself from the pull of his biological needs and vehemently cursed the day he found Jensen. He wished he hadn’t gone to that forest two months ago, wished he hadn’t found Jensen and wished that he wasn’t an Omega but really, what could he do? It wasn’t like he’d asked for it.

His parents were thrown out of their pack because they’d refused to end their son’s life. It was also the reason why he hadn’t gone to seek out other Packs when he left the Ackles house. None of them would accept him despite what his mother used to tell him when he was little. Omegas were special but that didn’t mean they were well loved by the other werewolves.  
“I was attending one of my girlfriends’ weddings in Austin at the time and instead of doing rehearsal we stayed in front of the TV when the news hit. A few of the maids of honor even cried and not just because one of their family had been injured at that club.”

“You’re exaggerating, right?”

“Scout’s Honor.” Alona saluted with three fingers to emphasize her words. “He’s sort of a celebrity down there.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Jared deadpanned.

“You should know. I heard you grew up in San Antonio and spent a few years doing theater in Dallas before you sold your soul and came to L.A.”

“I didn’t sell my soul,” snorted Jared.

“You say that now but actually you already did,” she sing-songed.

Jared scoffed and turned his back on her as he tried to get immersed in Sam Hawkins’ latest turmoil while pointedly ignoring her jabbers about the alive and apparently-not-so-dead Jensen Ackles. Like she would know anything about him, Jared scowled. He was the one who had spent more than a third of his life with Jensen, not her.

“Oh man, he’s so hot!” Alona gushed and Jared snorted, disgusted. “Damn, I wouldn’t mind being one of his harem. I heard he’d got ten of them before they all died in that explosion. D’you think he’s looking for more?”

Jared had half a mind to snap at Alona and tell her to squash her daydreaming because Jensen wouldn’t be looking for any more girls. Jared could guarantee that he wouldn’t look at another girl in his life; not when he’d already been claimed. Jensen had been claimed, damn it! No one had a right to touch him!

“Listen Alona-” he started but before he could chew her out, the door to his trailer opened and a PA peaked inside.

“Uh… Jared, Alona, you’re needed on set. I’ll drive you there.”

“Okay, come on Jay!” Alona bounced off the couch and skipped towards the mini kart that the PA was driving, with Jared following behind her, shooting daggers at her back.

The set for scene sixteen and onwards was located in the depths of the coastal redwood forests of Northern California. They had been doing take after take for five hours and Jared was getting angstier the longer they stayed in the woods. He had felt eyes on him ever since he’d arrived and the prickling sensation on his skin kept distracting him, making it hard to concentrate on the scene. He kept flubbing his lines and wandering off camera following the pull that whispered from among the tall trees. There was a longing inside him that made his wolf restless and agitated and that was how he knew that _he_ was there. The deeper he went into the woods the stronger the pull but Jared still didn’t understand the game his stepbrother was playing. Why didn’t he just show himself and tell Jared what he really wanted instead of playing tag with their senses like this. They hated each other and that was the one thing that Jared was sure still hadn’t changed despite the circumstances but recent complexities had forced him to admit that he could no longer ignore Jensen. Life had been so simple when he was free to hate his stepbrother.

“Padalecki could you please concentrate? We have a deadline here!” shouted the director, a middle aged guy with receding red hair who perched on a high chair behind a camera. The sun had gone down forty minutes ago and they still had two more takes to shoot and close-ups of him and Alona before they could wrap that day’s shooting. Jared couldn’t blame him for being upset.

“Jared, are you alright?” asked Alona. “You look flushed.” She stroked Jared’s cheek and stood on her tiptoes to reach his forehead but Jared took half a step back and leaned away to subtly avoid her advancing fingers. She looked like she was going to pursue it but stopped herself at the last second before yelling towards the crew standing by. “I think Jared needs a break. Can we continue tomorrow?”

“Can’t do that. It’s the last day on the schedule. We have to have this scene in the can today so we can shoot for the next scene tomorrow. Padalecki can you do it or not?” shouted the director.

“Yeah, yeah, just give me a few minutes, please.”

“You have five. Then we’re rolling. Everyone take a break and get ready in five!”

“Come on, Jay.” Alona steered Jared by the arm towards their chairs and the makeup artist quickly approached them. Jared had to forcibly will his body to stop fidgeting as he waited for the makeup girl to finish her touch up. “Do you have a problem with the scene? Or the script? Why didn’t you tell me before? We could’ve practiced some lines before the take today.”

“No, the script is fine. It’s… it’s the woods,” Jared lied, “I had a bad experience the last time I was surrounded by trees.” It wasn’t a complete lie but it wasn’t the trees and the forest that made him uncomfortable but the presence of an Alpha werewolf. An Alpha that happened to be his stepbrother who had mated him without his consent and was now pulling his senses taut like a string. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Just let me calm down. I’ll be alright.”

“Okay … I won’t disturb you,” said Alona. The ‘I’ll be here for you’ was loud and clear in Jared’s ears even though she didn’t voice it. Jared couldn’t decide if he wanted her company or not but with Alona there it was easier to distract himself. With her sitting close to him, he could smell her scent and Jared tried very hard to immerse himself in the very human smell around him.

The woods with their rich smell of wilderness were an inevitable temptation to his inner wolf and coupled with the lurking presence of his mate hiding among the trees, calling out to him; Jared was on the brink of insanity.

“Uh, Jay, they’re calling us. You’re ready?” Alona’s voice interrupted his thoughts and Jared summoned his strength and stubbornness to get though the rest of the day. He couldn’t wait for the final take to be in the can so that he could go home and lock himself in his bedroom. He wouldn’t bet that he wouldn’t be followed but at least at home there were less chance for him to do anything crazy.

“Sure! I’m fine. Let’s do this thing!”

Alona smiled at him. “Yeah, can’t wait to get home.”

  


  
Surprisingly, the take went smoothly and Jerry, their director for that day was more than pleased. They were preparing to do two close-ups of Jared from three different angles and had dismissed Alona for the rest of the day but the girl stubbornly stayed behind and waited for him. She stood next to Camera One watching him acting his scene when the camera guy interrupted.

“Wait a minute, what was that?”

“What? Is there something wrong with the lighting?” asked Jerry, the director.

“No, no, the lighting is perfect but I saw movement behind Jared.”

“Cut!” shouted Jerry before he went behind Camera One to see for himself.

Jared groaned. Great! Just when it was going smoothly for him. He huffed and his shoulders slumped as he stood waiting while the director conferred with the rest of the crew, leaning his back on a ninety foot redwood tree. Alona approached, smiling encouragingly at him and he appreciated her support, really he did, but he was so worn out that he could only offer her a grimace in reply.

“Come on, it’s just one scene and you’re doing great. They’re just…” she looked back at the group of people conferring around Camera One, “doing their stuff,” she said at last shaking her head when the arguments escalated. Jerry was suggesting they re-do the scene, which made Jared cringe, but the producer and the cameraman opted to just use the material they’d already shot despite the minor disturbance in the background.

“I just want them to make a decision already so we can all go home,” grumbled Jared.

He’d expected Alona to make a joke right then just like she usually did when she felt Jared needed cheering but her attention wasn’t even on him at the time. Instead, she was staring behind him; eyes wide and mouth agape.

“Alona, what –”

The growl ripped Jared’s voice out of his throat. He’d been so used to Jensen being around that day that he hadn’t realized when he’d come closer. Not until Alona’s shrill scream pierced the night.

 

  
Ever since he’d found out about the memory card, about Sheppard’s hidden lab and about the depths of his obsession with werewolves, Jensen had been following Jared. He knew Jared’s schedule, thanks to his connection to the agency that hired Kim Rhodes. The very agency he’d helped fund from the moment he knew that Jared had gone to Hollywood. If the kid thought that he’d rid himself of the family, he had another thing coming. They lived a dangerous life and no one left the family unless it was in a body bag. Sherri should had known this when she decided to seek his father’s help because getting tangled with a mob boss is not something you can just quit whenever you get bored. Perhaps, that was the reason why she did it. She and her husband had already attracted the attention of one mobster. There was no getting away from that so she might as well jump in with both feet.

Yet, Jensen hadn’t factored in the connection that he had with his stepbrother when he’d decided to pursue Jared to L.A. He was overwhelmed by the impulses and strong urges just as he had been that first time in the forest with Jared, and he wasn’t sure if the lack of inhibition that he was feeling was completely his. The moment he laid eyes on him again, the pull came unbridled, filling him with nothing else but the scent and smell of his stepbrother and all he wanted to do was to drag him to the nearest bedroom and fuck him stupid (and it didn’t even have to be in a bedroom). Logically, he knew it was this other side of him, the wilder side, the wolf side that recognized a mate in Jared.

Jensen shook his head and licked his muzzle as he jumped over a fallen log and slipped under thick bushes, watching as Jared was scolded by the director. He gritted his teeth and growled low in his throat. He curled his claws and sank them deeper into the damp ground. He knew his stepbrother was nothing if not stubborn and if what he’d learned about Omegas was true then he’d have to win him over rather than just force him but he didn’t have the time or the patience to do it the old way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
 _“I don’t think it’ll be that easy to convince the Arlington pack to join us,” Genevieve muttered before turning towards Chris who was lounging on a couch in Jensen’s house, a cold beer in one hand and the remote in the other, baseball game blaring from the sixty inch flat screen on the wall. “What do you plan to tell them?”_

_“What do I plan what? Speak clearly woman!”_

_Danneel clocked him one behind his ears on her way back from the garage. She jumped over the back of the couch and landed right in Chris’ lap. “If you just listened to her you’d know what she means.”_

_“Get away, wench!”_

_“Shut up! You’re my pillow now.” Danneel smacked him again on the head with a throw pillow._

_“See the abuse I have to go through?” Chris turned to Jensen, imploring. Jensen only glanced at him briefly before turning his attention back towards the legal papers of the family’s recent dealings with the Johanssons. They owned a brewery in Arlington that the Ackles had a holding in. He’d heard on the grapevine that they planned to sell some of their shares to Sheppard making him the largest stake holder. Jensen thought he could change their minds by offering a better deal. “Beseeching looks don’t suit you Chris.” And the girls laughed at Chris’ expense while the man just pouted, flicking the channels in rapid succession when the commercials came on._

_“As far as I know, there’s no such thing as an Alpha turned-werewolf, bitten humans don’t just turn into Alpha werewolves. They won’t believe it even if you tell them that Jensen is an Alpha. They’ll need proof.” Genevieve continued her musing as she turned to give Chris a hard look. “Did you really turn him?”_

_Chris’ face was the color of a tomato when he spluttered, “W-What? What the hell are you talking about, Gen? Of course I’m the one who turned him. Tell them Jensen!”_

_“Cut the bullshit Chris! He was halfway dead when it happened,” Danneel snapped as she lifted her fist, preparing to hit him again but Chris quickly snatched her arm away._

_“You hit me again; I’ll break your arm!” Chris threatened. Danneel just grinned wickedly at him. “Witch,” he grumbled._

_“You sure it wasn’t Jared who turned you?” Gen asked again, this time she directed her question at Jensen while Chris and Danni arm wrestled each other on the couch._

_Jensen looked up at her. “I’m sure. He was pretty pissed when he found out that I was a werewolf. Why?”_

_“If it was Jared who turned you, there’ll be a trace in your scent. Any werewolf will be able to pick it up and it’ll be enough to convince them but I can’t smell anything different about you. I don’t know what happened between you and Jared but Omegas don’t just turn anyone, not for anything, if they don’t intend to mate them. They’re picky. They only choose the strongest to mate with and their chosen mate automatically becomes Alpha. So, the fact that this douche bit you and you proclaim yourself an Alpha is a little bit far-fetched.”_

_“But Jared said I was one,” argued Jensen. “Why is it so important that I become an Alpha? You said that there’s no such thing as an Alpha turned-werewolf. What do you mean by that?”_

_“Like most werewolves, either turned or born, Chris is just a regular werewolf and any human he turns will be just a regular werewolf too, nothing more. Basically, we’re no different than humans. All of those stories about werewolf hierarchies, like Alphas or Betas, they are no more than glorified myths created by humans for the purpose of entertainment. But once in a while they got it right, like the Omegas. Alpha is merely a sobriquet,” Gen waved her hand around as she tried to find the right words, “Like a nick name, you know? It doesn’t mean anything other than ‘Omega’s chosen mate’,” said Gen rolling her eyes. “They call their mate Alpha because they want a distinction. Alpha-Omega, it has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? I don’t know how they do it but history tells that Omegas always know how to pick a good mate; the best out of all of their suitors.”_

_“And what’s an Omega do you think?” Jensen asked genuinely curious about what the other werewolves thought about Jared’s kind. Even Chris and Danneel had stopped fighting and were listening to her intently, baseball game forgotten._

_Jensen thought Gen’s smirk looked a little bitter but she continued in a brisk manner before he could wonder what it meant. “They are the Divas of Werewolf Society. Strong, beautiful, arrogant, manipulative and self-important. So much so that they wouldn’t think twice about destroying a whole pack to get what they wanted.”_

_“No. No, you’re wrong.” Jensen shook his head and defiantly met their eyes. Yes, Jared was annoying most of the time, he reasoned to himself, and he often acted like a spoiled brat but he didn’t think Jared was that cruel. It was hard to imagine that someone like Jared would be so heartless as to let a whole pack be destroyed just so he could get what he wanted._

_“That’s because you’ve fallen for one, though I can’t blame you. All werewolves possessing a knot will fall head over heels for an Omega. This creature could either be the strength of a pack or its destruction.”_

_“It’s not true! Chris, you’ve seen Jared when he was a kid.” Jensen called for Chris’ support and the older man looked uncomfortable. Danneel had scooted over towards the other end of the couch, leaning over to reach Gen’s hand and entwining their fingers together._

_“Honestly, I never knew that Jared was an Omega, not until you told me. I didn’t know much about werewolves at the time and the Padaleckis didn’t tell me why they’d left their pack.”_

_“They were probably banished from their pack,” Gen butted in._

_“What?!” Jensen and Chris looked at her in disbelief._

_“If Jared is an Omega, then their pack would think that it was too risky to allow him to live. Since his parents refused to end his life, they were banished from the pack.” Jensen’s mouth was agape and his mind stuttered on the ‘ending Jared’s life’ line. Jensen felt rage bubbling up from inside him. Red hot fury that burned because someone, hell a whole pack, wanted to kill Jared._

_“That’s bullshit Gen. Pack is like family. We don’t kill family,” Chris stated, a perplexed expression on his face._

_“It’s true! Because it happened to my pack!” Genevieve was all but yelling, yet her words carried weight. Danneel has shifted from the couch to the armrest of Genevieve’s loveseat, holding the brunette closely but Gen just looked blankly ahead. “Our pack leader didn’t believe the history and thought that it was just an exaggeration of an old wives’ tale. So, we kept him and the parents were grateful but when he grew up, discord started to spread among us. Males started to court him, fighting for his affections. The older he grew the worse they behaved. Blood started to be spilt and our pack leader asked the Omega to just pick one of us already and he’d be willing to give up the leadership to anyone that the Omega chose to be his mate. The Omega refused, saying that none of them were worthy to be his Alpha. So, the day of his first heat, his parents locked him up inside their house, boarded the door and windows and barricaded the fences.  But while he was locked up there was bloodshed outside._

_“The males were out of their minds with lust and the females were livid with jealousy while the children were hiding in fear.  I hid under the porch steps while my mother was ripped apart by my aunt, because she had bitten her mate’s neck, because my aunt’s mate had slashed my father, because the Omega had been seen receiving a gift from him. My pack was destroyed because of One. Fucking. Omega!”_

_Tears were running freely down Gen’s cheeks and Danneel had wrapped her arms around her, whispering soothing words in her ear. Chris looked down at his lap dejectedly, remorse screamed loudly in his posture. Jensen, Jensen felt hollow. He didn’t know who he should be sorry for; Genevieve or Jared._  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The director had called a break and he saw Jared walk to his chair in front of the supply tent followed by the blond girl while the crew flitted about the set. Jensen slinked back into the darkness, biding his time, viciously curbing his urges and forcing his higher brain function to take control. He recalled his talk with Chris and the girls about this. Apparently, no werewolf with a knot was able to resist an Omega, especially when they were in heat and that was exactly what had happened that night at Jared’s cabin. His stepbrother was in heat and Jensen was the unlucky, (or lucky depending on how you looked at it,) bastard in the vicinity. Freshly turned and confused out of his mind, he wasn’t a match for the Omega’s pheromone onslaught in the height of his heat. After learning of Gen’s story he wondered, was anyone?

Omega was Omega. They were like another gender altogether. There was a male werewolf, a female werewolf and on occasion, because they were such a rarity, there was an Omega; male and female personified in one body. Although, all Omegas were born in a male body, they could bear children if they were so willing.

So, Jensen being sexually attracted to Jared, was apparently a werewolf thing and not because he had suddenly turned gay. It had perplexed Jensen because even during his most experimental sexual exploits, he’d never been attracted to guys. This sudden attraction had been a shock to his human mindset and it took a while to come to terms with it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
 _“What’re you afraid of?” Cindy asked after he’d confided in her about his dilemma. He was glad to have her back home. She was the only one left from his old life, the one whom he could confide in and not be judged._

_“What’re you talking about? I’m not frightened,” Jensen scoffed._

_“Look, Jensen. I may be blind and know next to nothing about this werewolf business but I still know you. You’ve been drifting aimlessly for the past ten years, burdened by guilt and an unhealthy dose of self-deprecation-”_

_“Don’t you think that’s a little harsh?” Jensen gave an amused chuckle._

_“No. I know that you probably won’t enjoy hearing it but I’m gonna say it anyway.” She reached up to cover his heart with her warm palm. “You’ve been carrying this for so long that you feel like you’ve got no way out but you see, I think now is the right time to let all of that go. You are not the same confused little boy that you were twenty years ago, or the troubled teenager who was full of hatred and jealousy for his stepbrother and his mother because he was starved of his father’s affection. This new identity is your chance to be reborn as a new person. It’s a game changer, Jensen.” Cindy’s smile was wide and so, very enthusiastic that it drew Jensen closer. She cupped his cheek in her hand as she earnestly told him what she thought of his new status._

_“You’re a changed person now, an Alpha werewolf with responsibility for your new pack and new organization. Imagine all the possibilities for what you can do with that. I know that you’ve been watching out for your stepbrother from afar, trying to make amends for the wrongdoing that your younger self inflicted on him and this is your second chance. I don’t know much about werewolf lore and tradition but if what you’ve told me is true, then I think it’s time for you to do it right, to protect him and even love him. In a way, by doing that you can make it up to Jared.”_

_Jensen mulled over her words for a few seconds before hesitating, “You really think so?”_

_“I know so.”_  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jensen lifted his head off his paws when he saw Jared and his co-star walking onto the set so Jared could take his mark. He crept closer, ever mindful of not making noise. His dark coat made it easy for him to slink behind the trees surrounding the clearing being used as the set, eyes focused on his stepbrother the whole time.

It was time. Jared stood alone under the lights while the crew and his co-star waited at a distance. They were doing some close-up or something, Jensen didn’t really care. It would only take a jump and a couple of loud growls to hopefully scare them all away. His stepbrother leaned his back on a nearby redwood while his co-star approached him. Jensen couldn’t wait any longer.

He jumped out of the bushes, scaring the blond girl in the process and tackling her to the ground with one strong shove of his paws. He stood over her, drooling spit all over her body and growling at the rest of the crew. He watched in amusement as they shouted and cursed, scrambling all over the place and knocking over their equipment.

“Get a gun! Somebody get a gun!”

“Call the police! A park ranger! Anyone, damn it!”

“Oh my God! It’s gonna eat Alona!”

And Jensen couldn’t blame them, really. He was quite big when he was in his fur. The girl had apparently shaken out of her initial shock and was screaming in fear. Jensen hated her voice and he snarled his displeasure at her, jaw gaping open ready to break her neck if she didn’t shut up.

“No! Don’t bite her!”

Jensen snapped back and turned around to face Jared who stood in panic behind him. Jensen clamped a paw on the girl’s stomach and felt the satisfaction thrum through his veins when she trembled and whimpered. He sunk his claws through her thick wool jacket, piercing the delicate skin underneath. He didn’t need to see the blood as its coppery scent reached his nose. He knew that Jared could smell it too. His stepbrother glared at him and furiously worked his jaw.

“Let her go,” Jared gritted out.

Jensen growled deeper and pressed harder on her stomach and her gasp came out as a stutter. Jared’s eyes drifted towards the girl in worry. Jensen loved winding his stepbrother up like this. When Jared’s breathing became faster and his panic and worry rose further, Jensen decided to let the girl go. He reminded himself that as much as he loved to wind him up, that wasn’t exactly the reason why he was there.

“Go, Alona! Hurry!” Jared shouted.

“But, Jared, what about you?” protested the girl as she crawled away from Jensen, sobbing and clutching her bloody stomach.

“I’ll be fine. Please… go! Get out of here and get help.”

Jared glanced at the other crew members on set and Jensen could see the relief on his face when he saw that the rest of them had kept their distance. Good, Jensen thought. They didn’t want anyone to interfere.

“I know why you’re here,” his stepbrother said, bitch face in full force.

‘No, you don’t,’ Jensen replied silently.

“I don’t care if you’ve mated me. I won’t succumb to you!” he hissed.

Suddenly, there was a commotion from the direction of the gathering crew. It looked like someone had managed to get their hands on a firearm. It was time to get out of there. In one leap, Jensen had Jared’s ankle clamped in his jaw and pulled until he fell on the ground. Then, he clamped his jaws on Jared’s shoulder, pulling him towards the forest. Bullets sailed over his heads along with the rush of wind.

“Don’t shoot! You’ll hit Jared!” Jensen heard the girl scream and he quickened his pace, forcing his feet to run faster. He knew that it’d be a while before they could find them in the dark.

“Let me go!” Jared struggled.

Jensen let him go after they got deeper into the woods and his stepbrother quickly sat up inspecting the wounds on his shoulder and ankle. Jared swore under his breath and looked over his shoulder. Jensen could hear faint arguing and occasional yelling of Jared’s name coming from the direction of the set.

“Shit! They can’t see me like this. My wounds will heal in a few minutes and I can’t go back there now or they’ll get suspicious.” Jared swore under his breath before glaring at Jensen. “This is all your fault!” Jared hissed.

Well, that was exactly Jensen’s plan. He grinned at the scowling man and trotted away, convinced that Jared would follow him. The rustling sound behind him proved it and Jensen ran faster before the set crew could catch up with them.

  



	5. Hard Stone

 

  
Jared was sulking. There was no other word for it. He’d spent the whole night sitting in the corner of the small cave that Jensen had chosen for their rendezvous before falling asleep on a thick blanket he’d stolen from the pile. Jensen might not have thought it through entirely but he’d prepared this cave as best he could when he’d learned about Jared’s next filming location. He had a fire going, a pile of thick, warm blankets in one corner and a bag full of canned food for Jared if didn’t feel like hunting. Jensen had plenty of experience hunting, so they needn’t worry about food. Not that Jensen planned they’d spend a long time there; just long enough to convince Jared to go home with him.

Jensen nudged another log into the fire and dragged a blanket towards Jared’s corner. He put it on top of his stepbrother, doing his best to cover his giant frame before dragging another thick, woolen blanket to spread next to him. Jensen sniffed Jared’s back a couple of times before laying down on his own blanket and snuggling up closely to him. Jared shifted in his sleep.

“Go ‘way,” he muttered and elbowed Jensen’s head. Jensen leaned away a bit and waited until the younger man fell into a deeper sleep before he returned, pressing his body close to him. He purred in satisfaction when his stepbrother didn’t push him away again. Jared might be stubborn but he knew that even an Omega couldn’t resist the bond.

The moment Jared had laid eyes on him he’d called him Alpha. Jared’s wolf had acknowledged him as a worthy mate and Jensen planned to keep it that way. Granted, Jared hadn’t known many werewolves in his life as his mother and the Ackles family had kept him sheltered growing up. They’d done it for his safety. The only other kid around during his childhood had been Jensen. And Jensen couldn’t help thinking whether, if he’d been a werewolf back then and they’d lived in a wolf pack instead of a criminal gang, Jared would still had chosen him  over other werewolves in his vicinity? But, Jensen refused to dwell on that thought. Omegas were picky, so they said, but Jared had chosen him for whatever reason and Jensen wasn’t going to let Jared think otherwise and look for other, better suitors. There would only be Jensen and that would have to be enough.

  


  
“You can’t keep me here forever, you know,” Jared said in the morning while nibbling on the canned bacon Jensen had brought him. Jensen had offered him the rabbit meat he’d caught at dawn but the Omega had turned his nose up and refused it, saying it was disgusting. “D’you have any idea the chaos you caused yesterday? Not to mention that Kim’s probably worried sick. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s hired people to come search for me.”

Jensen let him ramble on but didn’t really listen because he’d already worked out what would be happening. That was why he had Jeff. His lawyer would sort things out with the network, just as he had for the past six years. If Jared had wanted to, he could’ve left but the fact that he hadn’t made it clear to Jensen that he was as bound to Jensen as Jensen was to him and all of his protests were just for show. Jared wanted to be wooed. It was in his Omega nature.

While Jared was looking around the cave and licking his fingers, Jensen went to his back pack and fished out a bottle of grape juice and a carton of milk hoping that Jared’s taste hadn’t changed in the last ten years. He dropped them both in front of his stepbrother and sat down, checking that his wounds had healed. He’d been kind of banged up the night before from Jensen’s manhandling. Jensen had offered to lick his wounds clean but Jared had snapped at him and pushed him away.

Jared narrowed his eyes at Jensen. “Are you gonna stay like that?

With a sigh Jensen stretched and assumed his human form. He didn’t miss the appreciative look his stepbrother shot him before the indifference returned as Jared averted his eyes and grabbed the grape juice.

“You don’t happen to have clean water, do you?” Jared asked, hands fumbling with the cap and cursing when the bottle slipped out of his fingers.

Jensen smirked before crawling to the other side of the cave to get the water can and a bathroom kit, bringing them outside. The ceiling of the cave was low with only a narrow smoke hole, so most of the time Jensen had to stoop or crawl to get in it. That was why he preferred to stay in his wolf form. He put the water can outside near the bushes beside the cave’s entrance.

“Water’s ready,” he shouted from the entrance. “Maybe not enough for a shower but I have brought a toothbrush and a hand towel if you’d like to clean up. Don’t worry, they’re brand new.”

Jared came out a while later, but didn’t spare Jensen a glance and went straight to the water can. Jensen stood a few feet away, giving him a modicum of privacy while still able to watch him. It was hard for Jensen, being so close to him but not allowed to touch although the short time he’d spent curling up next to Jared during the night had helped somewhat.

The sound of tearing fabric snapped Jensen out of his thoughts just in time to see a blur of light brown and white fur dart into the woods. He shifted quickly into his wolf and chased after Jared using his sense of smell to guide him. Jared was a surprisingly nimble runner despite his size when he was on two legs, his wolf form was leaner and just a little smaller than Jensen’s and he didn’t hesitate to use it to his advantage. Jensen was tempted to let this chasing game go on just to see how long it would last but he couldn’t afford to let Jared leave the forest, so he pushed his legs faster and jumped higher to catch up with him.

It was clear that Jared wasn’t used to running for his life as he telegraphed his movement seconds before he veered to the left behind a tree stump. As a result, Jensen was able to intercept him just a couple of steps after he made the turn, jumping on his back sending both of them tumbling to the ground. Jared quickly regathered his bearings and prepared to take off again but Jensen swiped his hind legs with his paw and managed to trip him. By the time Jared had stood up again, Jensen was in front of him, preventing him from running.

Knowing his path was blocked, Jared took a couple of wary steps backwards. He eyed Jensen’s left and lifted his front paw in that direction before fainting to the right at the last second in an attempt to trick him. Jensen hit him from the side, sending him to the ground and going after his neck but Jared was quicker this time. He twisted his head and bit Jensen’s front leg. The sudden pain made Jensen lose his balance and he tumbled on top of Jared. His claws grappled for purchase and managed to scratch Jared’s stomach, taking a chunk of his fur too. Jared yelped in pain before attacking Jensen, redoubling his efforts, biting and scratching Jensen’s entire body. From his position, Jensen had the perfect view of Jared’s neck and he went for the bite the moment he had a chance.

Jared jumped away at the last minute and soon they were snarling and circling each other. Jared’s fur was matted with blood from the claw marks and bites all over his body but he stood his ground even more stubbornly than before. There was a haughtiness and pride in the way he stood, glaring at Jensen as if the wounds were nothing but a nuisance. That was when Jensen realized that everything that Genevieve had told him about Omegas was true. Jensen observed Jared cautiously, eyes trained towards his shoulder muscles watching, anticipating his next move. For the first time since he left Dallas, with the intention of bringing Jared home with him, Jensen had to rethink his approach carefully. This was a prideful creature. He was afraid if push came to shove; Jared would choose death rather than yield to him.

The next time Jared moved, Jensen was ready. Jaws wide open, both wolves kicked off the ground almost at the same time and the sound of the two growling beasts echoed through the forest along with the thump of hard bones against sharp teeth. More blood was shed and skin torn but the pain was muted, swept aside by the current of adrenaline coursing through their veins. Dodging Jared’s claws as they came towards his eye, Jensen jerked his head away just as Jared flipped over, pushing him to the ground. Jensen’s head hit a sharp stone and in the split second his attention lapsed, Jared managed to clamp his jaws around Jensen’s muzzle.  Responding instantly, Jensen embedded his claws into Jared’s neck.

There was stalemate; a still moment where both Jensen and Jared assessed the situation. There were two options, Jensen realized. First, he could deepen his claws into Jared’s neck threatening both their lives in the process and second, he could surrender and use a different tactic to get Jared to see his way. So, after weighing the best course of action in a few quick seconds, he decided to try option number two.

The shifting back into his human form went swiftly and almost painlessly. Chris Kane’s first advise when Jensen had asked to help him separate his human from his werewolf’s instinct was to find a single thought that was completely different to each mind and hold on to it. That way, he could mute his werewolf senses while in human form and could assimilate his mind better when in his wolf form but Jensen refused to numb his werewolf senses, for they had never yet failed to keep him alive. He might just need to accept that he would always be a little feral even when he was in human form.

Groaning low in his throat, Jensen winced as Jared’s fangs sunk deeper into his cheek and under his jaw. He held himself still as he panted on the ground, Jared’s wolf’s form still perched on his chest.

“Please, please Omega…” Jensen muttered as he let his hand, devoid of sharp claws, grasp Jared’s neck; holding, not chocking. He even gave it soothing rubs before Jared started to get the message and let him go.

Jared backed away, looking at Jensen hesitantly before he too shifted back. Jensen closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, giving his body enough time to recuperate and start mending itself.

“I defeated you,” Jared said, eyes defiant. “Did you hold back?”

“Jared, please, just let me take a breath,” Jensen stalled.

“Did you?!” Jared snapped impatiently. “I don’t appreciate you taking pity on me. You, of all people –”

“I know!” Jensen paused. “I know, okay. Look, I still hope you don’t change your mind about choosing me as your Alpha and this is undoubtedly embarrassing.” Jensen let out a small embarrassed chuckle. “Believe me, it hurts my ego that you’ve managed to beat me but at least please, listen to me. I need to tell you something. I didn’t have a chance at the cave before you bolted and if after this you still want to have nothing to do with me then…” Jensen trailed off, looking at his stepbrother hopefully. He didn’t plan to let Jared go even if the Omega did decide to reject his offer. He’d just needed to think of a new technique to woo him back or kidnap him for real next time. Jared would go home with him no matter what.

Jared blinked at him a few times and seemed to come to a decision; he sat back on his haunches and glared. “Start talking!”

Jensen mimicked Jared’s posture, sitting on his haunches, his arms hugging his knees. “I want you to come back with me, to our house in Dallas.” There, he’d said it.

“No,” and there was the predicted answer.

Jensen smiled crookedly. Having anticipated Jared’s answer, he continued. “I knew you were gonna say that, so I cooked up a plan to get you alone and talk to you-”

“My answer’s still no.”

But Jensen continued, as if uninterrupted, “Because I knew that if I’d done it the old fashion way, coming to your house, asking to meet you, making an appointment or even bribing your agent,” Jared looked scandalized at that, “You still wouldn’t see me. Short of breaking into your house and holding you at gun point, this was the only way I could think of.”

Jared scowled. “And your point is?”

“I want you to return to Dallas with me because I plan to kill the guy who murdered your parents.” Jensen held Jared’s eyes, willing his stepbrother to believe him. “The reason why your father died when you were just a kid was because of one man’s obsession. Mark Sheppard had been targeting your father from the moment he knew about the Hive software. Not only that, but he also knows about werewolves.”

Jared’s face contorted in disbelief as he stared agape at Jensen. “That’s impossible!”

“It’s true. A day before he killed your mother, my father managed to blow up his secret lab where his researchers were studying werewolf blood.”

“Where did he get the blood?” Jared asked, face askance as he was still a little bit stunned by the news.

“Who knows?” Jensen shrugged. “I’ve read the report on their research and I know that Sheppard won’t stop until he gets his hands on you because he believes that you’re the last link to discovering our community. The Hive software was your father’s legacy and it’s the most sophisticated software in the world but Sheppard killed your parents not only because of that. I get why werewolves need to hide because the world is not ready to accept us. Sheppard must die but I need to make sure that he can’t kidnap you for leverage before I get to kill him. Do you know how many threats I’ve thwarted in the last couple of weeks? How many of his men I’ve killed? They have been tailing you and watching your house. The only place where they can’t get to you is on the set.”

“But what about filming? I’ve signed a contract. I can’t just up and leave. What about my career?” Jared protested.

“Who do you think got you into your show?” Jensen smirked. “I got you this far and I can do it again. Believe me, the show and your career are the least of your concerns right now.”

Jared got a punched-in-the-gut expression on his face and Jensen couldn’t blame him. It must have been a shock to find out that the guy who you’d hated for as long as you could remember was the same guy who’d helped you live your dream. Jensen could only hope that this revelation didn’t make Jared hate him more. There was enough hate in his life already and as much as he wished that things had been different between him and Jared back then, he couldn’t change the past. He could only move forward and make it up to him as he went. Some of these feelings might have been part of the compulsion to please that Omegas seemed to instill in every male werewolf in their vicinity but if there was one thing that Jensen was sure about it was that this compulsion (or whatever it was called) had given him a clarity and purpose that were lacking in his life before he’d been turned.

Looking into Jared’s eyes, Jensen knew his stepbrother had caved even before he said anything but he kept the triumphant feelings inside and schooled his expression to convey a hopeful sincerity so as not to irk Jared further.

“On one condition,” Jared stated. “I may be an Omega but you can never lord it over me. I don’t care that you’re an Alpha. I’ll only stay until you kill Sheppard and I’m free to go whenever I want. I won’t be a prisoner.”

‘Wow!’ Jensen thought in wonder, it seemed that his stepbrother really didn’t know what it meant to be an Omega in werewolf society. He didn’t know that it was him who called the shots and that Jensen would be compelled to grant him anything he wished. It was gonna be an interesting agreement.

Smirking, Jensen quickly agreed. “Deal!”

Now that the hard part was over, Jensen just had to deal with the harder part of the plan which was convincing Jared to stay with him. Oh, yes, and kill Sheppard apparently.

  


  
“Do you remember Chris Kane?” Jensen asked when they were in his limo, on the way home from the airport. Jared didn’t think he knew anyone with that name. When Jared gave no indication that he knew the guy, Jensen elaborated. “He’s the werewolf your parents took off the street when you were a kid … dark hair, kinda moody?”

“Maybe …” Jared hesitated; mind going back twenty years to when his family still lived in downtown Dallas. There was not much that he remembered from that time, so even if there had been a man named Chris Kane who’d lived with them, he surely didn’t remember him.

“He was the one who arranged for your lodging when you left our house ten years ago.”

Jared frowned. He was sure that wasn’t what Alan had told him when he introduced the couple. “I was told that the Kowalskis were my mom’s distant aunt and uncle.”

“No, they were Kane’s former employers at the garage where he used to work before he joined the mob. Dad was reluctant to let you go because he was worried for your safety even after Sheppard had been incarcerated. He was sure that the bastard wouldn’t stay locked up for long. Not to mention that his men were still out and about. So, he contacted Kane to arrange for your temporary lodgings and sent the man to spy on the organization from the inside, to give him info on Sheppard’s movements on the werewolf front. But, so far, nothing has come of it. It isn’t surprising considering that their secret lab was burned to ashes. Remember the big fire in Arlington that made huge news back then?”

Jared nodded. He remembered that fire, remembered watching the news with his friends at his dorm room, the day before he was sent home to attend his mother’s funeral. How could he forget that fire? It marked the worst day of his life, the day he’d lost his mom.

“Yeah, Sheppard had a lab there. He hired two scientists to study a werewolf blood sample. It wasn’t stated in the report where he got the blood but we have a suspicion that it might have had something to do with your dad. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me,” Jensen explained.

Jared took a deep breath and looked outside through the dark, tinted window. The more secrets he uncovered, the more it baffled him. He’d never had any interest in mob life and hadn’t even tried to understand their way of life. To him, Alan Ackles was a just a man who used to play with him during the full moon, who’d occasionally tucked him into bed at night and read him stories, who’d always given him hugs when he fell and hurt his knees and who’d spoiled him with toys and candies when he was a kid. There were always lots of toys and candies. He’d never seen him as a mob boss or a leader of a crime organization; just a nice man with a silly smile and a barking laugh, not a substitute for his dad but close enough. He never knew that there was so many secrets in the family and it made him feel like he’d only scratched the surface.

“We’re here!”

Jensen’s deep baritone interrupted his reverie. Jared blinked and looked around. There were lots of things that had changed. The road towards the Ackles family house had been upgraded to asphalt and the trees that lined the road had grown bigger, some of the apple trees had gone altogether replaced by evergreens.

“What happened to the apple trees?” Jared asked when they arrived at the gate.

“What apple trees?” asked Jensen, frowning.

“You know… the apple trees next to the gate that I used to climb?” Jared explained. “There were five of them.”

“Dad probably cut them down after you left. The house was completely renovated a few years ago. They cut down the trees along the road when they expanded it and changed it to asphalt.”

“I loved those trees,” Jared muttered forlornly while eyeing the new evergreen trees that framed the gate, distastefully. “Used to climb them when they were in season and pick the apples.”

“I’ll plant you new trees in the backyard. I plan to level the ground on the north side of the yard and build a garden. I’m planning to expand the pack so I’ll need to build another house too. There are three other werewolves living in the house besides us and I plan to bring more to join us.” Jensen turned towards Jared, smirking. “I have a pack now.”

Jared snorted. “Couldn’t even manage to run your father’s organization and you want to lead a pack?”

“Hey, the operative word is not ‘couldn’t’ but ’wouldn’t’.” Jensen said, pointing his finger at Jared. “I could’ve done it if I’d wanted to.”

“Then, why didn’t you?!” Jared challenged.

Jensen narrowed his eyes. “Why do you care anyway? You left!”

When the limo rolled to a stop in front of the Ackles house, Jensen quickly stepped out without waiting for his bodyguard to open the door for him. Jensen was right. Jared _had_ left because he couldn’t stand to live under the same roof as Jensen anymore, without his mother. He thought that the death of his mother had cut all ties that he had with the Ackles family. It seemed he was wrong.

The house was bigger than he remembered. The floors, wallpaper and even the chandeliers were new. It didn’t look like the house that Jared had spent the worse part of his childhood in.

“It’s nice,” he commented as he looked around the living room, noting some of the old furniture among the new. He frowned when he noticed a new doorway that hadn’t been there before. “What’s behind this door?” Jared wondered, already on his way to investigate the new room.

“We needed a bigger garage, so we built one out back and converted the old ones into a utility room and built a gym while we were at it,” Jensen explained but Jared had stopped listening to him, already busy admiring the various exercise equipment.

“I have one of these at home,” Jared said, standing next to a treadmill. “Haven’t had the time to use it though, with my recent schedule.”

“Well, now you have. You can use this room as much as you want. Come on, I’ll show you to your room,” Jensen called from the doorway where he stood with his hands in his pockets, gesturing with his head at Jared.

Jared gave a last longing look at the treadmill before following Jensen upstairs. “Won’t I get to stay in my old room?” Jared asked as he bounded up the stairs alongside Jensen, his previous angst forgotten as his mind worked on a schedule to try out all the gym equipment now that he didn’t have a tight filming schedule to maintain. Thinking about filming, Jared asked, “What did you say to my agent about my absence? What did the studio say? I can’t believe they let me go that easily. I wonder what they’ll do for the rest of the season. We were only two episodes in and you ruined the third.”

“They’re probably still looking for you right now and as far as your contract goes, it stated you’d be free of all obligation regarding filming if you were under dire and life threatening circumstances. I guess, getting mauled by a wild wolf is considered dire and life threatening circumstances. Besides, most of them probably think that you’re already dead, anyway.”

Jared gaped at his stepbrother, then scowled at him when he saw Jensen’s smirk. The bastard!

“Chill, man. My lawyer’s takin’ care of it as we speak and he’s the best in his field,” Jensen said, still chuckling.

“The same lawyer who let you get kidnapped and tortured?” Jared sneered. He didn’t know why he’d said it but being around Jensen reawakened the old feelings in him that made him want to hurt Jensen as much as he had hurt him back then. Mockery was one of their only means for communication during their childhood. He’d spent his free time thinking of new and creative insults to use on his stepbrother and he knew that Jensen had done the same.

“Jeff’s not a saint, I admit that, but he’s a good lawyer. He knows that I’m capable of making his life hell if he dares to betray me.”

“How noble,” Jared mocked.

“I’m a mobster. I don’t do noble,” Jensen quipped.

When they reached the second floor landing, a stocky guy with longish dark hair and a goatee approached them.

“Jared!” the guy said and smiled at Jared like they were best pals. “Damn, boy, you’re even taller than on TV!”

“Uh, I am Jared,” Jared mumbled confused and he could hear Jensen snickering behind him. Jared lifted his hand for a handshake but the guy enveloped him in a hug instead. Not that Jared was opposed to hugging but he couldn’t help but feel as if he was entering a film set without reading the script.

“Been waiting for you. Thought you wouldn’t come. I guess Jensen won the bet,” the stocky guy said, smiling.

Jared still felt like a fish out of water but there was one thing that caught his attention. He turned towards Jensen and asked, “You were betting on me?”

Jensen rolled his eyes, muttering about some silly drinking game under his breath. “Come on, I’ll show you to your room. We’ve renovated the whole west wing and converted your old room into a library.” He led Jared through the east wing passing several closed doors along the hallway.

They passed  a large, spacious room with floor to ceiling windows that opened onto a balcony that overlooked the backyard. Thick, green, woolen rug covered the floor and plush pillows of various sizes were scattered haphazardly around the room. It was also brightly lit but the source of the light didn’t come from any electric light instead, it came from the sun above. The whole of the roof was glass and gave it an outdoor feel.

“This is our recreation room,” the stocky guy said. “I convinced Jensen to convert one of the rooms into a rec room for us werewolves. We can enjoy the full moon and stay indoors if we don’t feel like going outside.”

Jared nodded his head. He was impressed. “Nice,” he commented, wishing he’d thought of that when he’d got his own house a few years back.

“So, you still don’t remember me?” the guy asked again when they resumed walking. “Can’t blame you, though. You were just a kid and I was a little bit of an asshole back then. I’m Christian Kane. Your parents took me in when you were about five.” When Jared frowned he elaborated further. “I’m the angry werewolf who lived in your attic.”

The image of a growling, grey-brown werewolf came to Jared’s mind. “Oh, that was you?!” he exclaimed. “Mom always told me to stay away from the attic because you might get upset. I thought you’d run away.”

Chris rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I did kinda run away. After Gerald’s passing I just couldn’t …”

Jared understood that. Even though at the time, he hadn’t really grasped the concept of death. He just knew that his daddy wouldn’t be coming home anymore and his mommy was sad all the time but things got better for his mom after they’d moved to the Ackles house. Alan Ackles was nice. It was too bad that his son wasn’t.

“It’s okay, man. I understand and I’m sorry for not remembering you earlier. You did a lot for me without my knowledge and I thank you for that.”

“Oh, Jensen has told you then?”

“Yeah, some.”

“Well, there’s more to that story. We’ll get you updated once you settle in.” Chris gestured towards the room at the end of the hallway where Jensen stood.

“This is your room and that one is mine,” Jensen said, pointing at the room across from him. “Call me or Chris if you need anything and don’t worry about your clothes. My men have picked your stuff up from your house. They’ll be here in a few hours.” Jensen reached inside his jacket and handed Jared a new phone. “I suggest you call your agent. She chased my men out of your house with a fire extinguisher,” Jensen told him with a sour face.

The image of a pissed off Kim Rhodes chasing mobsters with a fire extinguisher was so funny that Jared spent the next few seconds laughing so hard tears rolled down his cheeks. “Oh, my stomach hurts!” Jared took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down but then he made a mistake of looking at Jensen’s incredulous face and another round of laughter couldn’t be helped.

Jensen raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Come on Chris, I need to talk to you about our next move on the Arlington pack.” Jensen pulled the door closed, leaving Jared still giggling on the floor. “Get settled chuckles!”

Jared curled up on the floor clutching his stomach as occasional giggles escaped him. Damn! He needed that laugh. The stress of dealing with his stepbrother and his secrets had put a damper on his mood. He sighed deeply and turned to lie on his back, taking in his new room. It was the same size as his old room but bare of anything personal. He didn’t plan on staying in this room for long anyway; at least not long enough to personalize it. It didn’t matter if he couldn’t return to the film industry. He’d look for a job somewhere else. Though, he loved acting and would take any job as long as he could still act. Maybe Kim could connect him up with one of the theater companies around California or he could contact his old friends from drama school. He didn’t need Jensen’s help to build his career. He’d survived middle school with Jensen; surely he could survive this.

 


	6. Black Phoenix

 

 

Jared closed the door to his room and pulled at the collar of his t-shirt while listening to the dial tone from his new cell phone. He was halfway down the stairs when Kim picked it up.

_“Where the hell are you?!”_ Kim growled into the phone.

Jared winced at her pissed off tone and nearly ended the call but realized that she’d just call him back anyway. “Look, before you get mad at me, I’m okay,” he said, trying to placate her.

_“I’m already pissed,”_ Kim hissed. _“Here I am worried sick about you and thinking that you’re dying in a ditch somewhere after getting mauled by a bear -”_

“Not a bear,” Jared rolled his eyes, “It was a wolf.”

_“At least if you were dead, the network would be off my back,”_ continued Kim disregarding Jared’s interruption _._

“I’m glad that my death would solve your problems,” Jared added dryly. “I thought Jensen’s lawyer was taking care of things there?”

_“That’s the thing that annoyed me the most. How come you never told me that Jeff Morgan was your lawyer?”_

“He’s not my lawyer,” Jared said exasperatedly. “He’s the Ackles family lawyer.”

_“Doesn’t matter! You could’ve introduced us earlier or at least told him nice things about me. D’you know how many times I’ve tried to engage him in conversation? I could’ve saved myself all of that trouble if only you hadn’t held out on me!”_

Jared rolled his eyes. “I regret calling you. You don’t even care if I live or die.”

Kim scoffed. _“Not that you can die.”_

There was a loud noise of people shouting outside. Jared turned towards a nearby window to peek through the blinds. He saw Chris arguing with one of the guards next to a big truck at the gate. The words ‘Rose Landscaping’ emblazoned on the truck’s side, complete with a pine tree and a full moon symbol in the background. He frowned.

“I’m not a vampire, you know,” Jared said distractedly reengaging with Kim. It seemed that Jensen had been serious when he’d said that he was going to plant him new trees in the backyard. The distance from the gate to the main house was too far for Jared to hear what they were arguing about clearly but finally the guards acquiesced and let the truck drive in. Chris jumped into the cabin to direct the truck around the house to the backyard. Jared leaned away from the window and tuned in to Kim on the phone.

_“Thank God you’re not. Vampires are so lame. Anyway, where are you now? I promise I won’t tell, Jared. You know me.”_

Jared let out a sigh and leaned on the edge of a small table next to the window. “I’m at my stepbrother’s home right now.”

_“In Dallas? What are you doing there? I thought you hated him.”_

“Oh, I still hate him, don’t get me wrong, but it’s kind of a family emergency. I’m sorry if I put you to any trouble, Kim.”

_“It’s nothing, really. At least after that piece of hot lawyer sauntered in and smoothed things over with the network executives. I don’t know what he said to the suits but I hear they got a new writer for the revised script through the rest of the season and a couple of new commercial contracts”._

“So they revised the script?” Jared asked curiously. “You don’t happen to know how, do you?”

_“Eh, they’re keeping it under wraps for now since the media is still in uproar over your mysterious disappearance but I hear from one of my less respectable connections-”_

“Less respectable?” Jared asked, snickering.

_“Shuddup! They’re reliable,”_ Kim snapped while Jared continued to grin. _“Anyway, I think they plan to use your last scene, including the attack and work from that.”_

“Wait a minute. They caught that on tape? Wha…” Jared was stunned. He sat agape for a few moments, lost for words while Kim continued blabbering at the other end.

_“Coupled with Alona’s testimony, I think it’s a good way to advertise your show. A lot of people who hadn’t heard of it have started to watch the reruns and your loyal fans have been gathering resources and volunteering to join the search. They’d be swarming through the woods by now if the park rangers hadn’t been there to stop them. Social media exploded! Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, you name it! The network is getting a lot of free advertising because of it. So I suggest you stay where you are and don’t go out. At least not until the hubbub has died down. Then, you can plan your grand return to the industry,”_ Kim paused, _“You_ will _return, right Jared?”_

Jared shook out of his stupor and blinked a couple of times before answering, “Y-yeah, of course! What’re you talking about? Of course I’ll come back. I just need to settle a few things with my family.”

_“Okay… that’s good. I miss you, you know.”_

Jared chuckled. “Didn’t know you’re such a sap, Kim.”

_“Shuddup!”_ And Jared laughed louder. _“So … what’s up with the horror stunt? Did you really get mauled by a wolf? Like a werewolf?”_ asked Kim tentatively.

“If I tell you then I’ll have to kill you,” Jared said cheekily.

_“Come on, Jared. Don’t get smart with me. That line won’t work for me because I already know about your furry little problem.”_

“I’m not kidding, Kim. Things have got very tense around here. You have to promise me that you won’t breathe a word of it to anyone. My stepbrother wouldn’t have any qualms about ending your life if you do and if he doesn’t then someone else will.” Jared’s tone had turned somber as he chose his words carefully, hoping that Kim would heed his warning.

_“Jared, what’s going on? You’re scaring me.”_

“Just remember what I said and pretend you never hear from me. I’ll contact you again in a few weeks,” Jared promised. Then, in a more cheerful tone he said, “Hey, nice work with shooing the mobsters out of my house. I’ll think about hiring you to be my personal bodyguard.”

His attempt at lightening the mood worked and Kim started regaling him with the story of her heroic act with the fire extinguisher. _“…and they ran out of your house like their butts were on fire. Apparently they only took your clothes and toiletries. What’s up with that? And did you say mobster?”_

Jared chuckled. “Yeah, they’re Jensen’s men. Don’t ask me why but he seems convinced that I’ll stay here permanently, went out of his way to get me settled and comfortable. It’s weird, you know. He didn’t really like me much when we were growing up, he was pretty much hell bent on making my life miserable but now… I don’t know.” Jared paused, looking for the right words to describe Jensen’s recent behavior. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say that he’s trying to make it up to me. Did you know that he’s the one who got me on the show?”

_“What? But I’m the one who got you your show,”_ protested Kim indignantly.

“Did you contact the network in the first place? How did you know about the show?”

_“Well, I always get a list of the new pilots from the agency and last year my buddy from the network forwarded me the script of the show’s pilot and you know the rest,”_ Kim said.

“His lawyer probably has a contact on the inside. Would you mind asking around?” asked Jared.

_“Sure. I can do that.”_

“Thanks Kim. You’re the best.”

_“I know I am,”_ Kim said and her haughty tone made Jared smile fondly. _“Take care, Jared.”_

“You too. Bye Kim!” Jared ended the call and stood up.

On his way to the gym, he walked past Cindy’s room. Her door was half open and he could see the brunette sitting next to the window dictating words into her computer. He’d met Cindy the first day he was in the house and instantly took a liking to the blind girl. She was brilliant and had a great sense of humor and soon they were bantering back and forth about philosophy and science. They quickly became fast friends. He told her about the funny moments during his many auditions for roles and in turn she told him about her late best friends, Jensen’s harem.

At first, Jared felt a stab of something in his chest when he learned about them. It was similar to what he’d felt when Alona was gushing about becoming one of Jensen’s harem. If he was in his wolf form, his hackles would have raised as contempt filled his heart in a rush and it made him snap at Cindy. But then, he regretted it when he realized that Jensen was now an Alpha werewolf. It was unlikely that he’d be interested in these girls anymore. He told himself that it wasn’t jealousy that he’d felt, but his inner wolf was smug nonetheless when he saw a crestfallen look on Cindy’s face. Really, his wolf could be more of a slut than those harem girls. He had tried to apologize but even though Cindy had said that she’d forgiven his outburst, Jared still felt bad. At the end of the day, he couldn’t shake the awkwardness and had left Cindy’s room with a heavy heart.

Jared let out a sigh and resumed his trek to the gym. It wouldn’t do to disturb Cindy while she was busy with her work. The incident had put her career as a columnist on hold but she refused to give up and be solely dependent on Jensen. So, she’d started to write a book. Jared hoped he could see her that afternoon to clear the air between them.

It was a pleasant surprise when he met another person in the gym. The girl was doing crunches on the carpeted floor next to a bench in the corner and Jared quickly bounced over to say hi.

“Hi! I haven’t seen you around.” The girl suddenly froze mid crunch as her big eyes stared at Jared unblinkingly. “Oh, shoot! My mistake. Please, go on! Continue with your crunches. I’m sorry for disturbing you. I’ll be over there, okay?”

Jared quickly skipped towards the treadmill machine and did some warm up exercises as the machine started up. Jumping onto the treadmill, he set the speed on low and started up another conversation with his new gym friend.

“So, I know that you’re a werewolf. You must be one of the girls Jensen recruited as his pack. I’m Jared, Jensen’s stepbrother.” But the girl didn’t reply and when Jared looked up he saw her picking up her water bottle and heading for the door. Since the treadmill was near the door, she had to walk past Jared. “Hey, where are you going?”

The girl stopped just a few feet away, fidgeting and glancing every so often towards the door. “Uh … I’m all done. I’ll …” She mumbled and gestured towards the door. She didn’t even look at him as she said it, just kept her eyes on the floor.

Jared thought that her shyness was cute. He knew he was a big guy and some people who didn’t know him sometimes felt intimidated, so he always made sure to be as friendly as possible towards people.

He stepped off the treadmill but didn’t get any closer to her. “That’s too bad,” Jared said, frowning sadly. “I was hoping that you would stay longer so we could chat, you know. Being in a gym alone sucks,” Jared pouted and flashed her a doleful look, hoping that his patented puppy dog eyes would sway her to his will. But she kept her eyes downcast and refused to look at him. “I haven’t met other werewolves in my life and Jensen and Chris are so busy most of the time.”

“D-Danneel will be back soon. You can… Y-you can ask her. I-I need… to go.” The girl mumbled the last words and skirted around Jared like a scared mouse before quickly leaving the gym.

“What a weird girl,” Jared mused aloud. He shook his head and restarted the treadmill before jamming his headphones into his phone jack to listen to some music in the silent gym.

The girl had mentioned her friend Danneel, so she must be Genevieve. Chris had told him about Genevieve and Danneel and had particularly praised Danneel’s prowess in potion and poison making, so Jared was looking forward to chatting with her. Both girls were Jensen’s bodyguards and he never left the house without one or both of them. People mostly thought of them as Jensen’s new girls and Jensen wanted to maintain that deception, for safety reasons. No one would think that girls as beautiful as them (he knew that Genevieve was gorgeous, so Danneel must be just as stunning) could be deadly. Though, after meeting Genevieve today Jared thought that Chris might be exaggerating.

 

 

**A few days later… Somewhere in East Dallas…**

A luxury, black SUV drove slowly up to the front of a dive that was guarded by three bouncers. Youngsters, from teens to late twenties, were queuing around the block, grumbling and swearing at the burly bouncers. Occasionally, the door opened and the bouncers let a few of them in after checking their ID. A blond guy in his early twenties was shouting obscenities when he was held up while his four friends were allowed in.

“Fuck you, man! Those are my friends. We’re going in together!” But the bouncer just stared him down and barked, “Back in line!”

The guy went on shouting for a while and looked like he was considering violence but quickly realized that the odds were not in his favor. So, he opted for a different and more subtle approach. He reached inside his leather jacket and pulled out a twenty before leaning in close towards the bouncer.

“Hey man, let’s keep this between us, eh?” he whispered as he slipped the money into the bouncer’s hand.

The bouncer just raised his eyebrow and yanked the kid’s jacket open to slip the twenty back into his pocket saying, “For candies,” before grinning mockingly.

The guy’s face turned red and both his hands fisted at his sides, muscles taut ready for a fight. Chris chose that moment to open the back door of the SUV and step out; automatically attracting the attention of the bouncers. Flanked by two of his trusted men, Chris approached the bouncer who was holding the blond guy up close, and slapped his back.

“Let him go!”

The bouncer pushed the guy unceremoniously to the floor and turned around with a scowl in place. “Mind your own business, Kane!” he growled.

“What d’you think I’m doing here?” Chris retorted.

“This isn’t your turf,” the bouncer sneered. “Besides, I heard you’re out of the favor with the boss at the moment.”

“Depends on who your boss is,” Chris muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” the bouncer asked, narrowing his eyes at him.

“I want to see your boss!” Chris stated loudly instead, standing straight and looking up at the bouncer who was a few of inches taller than him. The height difference didn’t deter him because he was sure he could take the bouncer out in a fight.

The two men stared at each other for several tense seconds before the bouncer nodded towards his pal who was guarding the door. The guard quickly slipped inside to notify their boss. Chris knew this song and dance intimately from his early years of initiation into the mob. These bouncers looked tough alright but they were just foot soldiers, just like he had been back then. They didn’t make the decisions.

Chris broke out in an easy smile after the other bouncer had gone inside. Slipping his hands in his pants’ pockets, he tilted his head at the young man who stood fuming behind the bouncer. “Hey kid! What’s your name?” Chris asked.

Still glaring spitefully at the bouncer who’d threatened him, the kid mumbled, “Stefan. Who’re you?”

“Speak clearly or I won’t take you in,” Chris said.

“Hey, you can’t-” The bouncer started to protest but Chris silenced him with a wave of his hand.

To his credit, Stefan didn’t quickly jump at the chance. Instead, he shifted his feet and leveled Chris with a suspicious look, obviously trying to look tough despite his obvious embarrassment. Chris was amused.

“What’s it to you?” Stefan asked.

“Does it matter?” Chris asked, smirking.

“’Course it does! Nothing’s free, you know,” Stefan retorted with the know-it-all attitude of reckless youth.

“Oh, I know that. Believe me I do. Don’t worry, though. I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to. You’re free to go and roam around the place as you like or look for your friends. It’s up to you.”

“They’re not my friends. They left me,” the guy spat disdainfully.

“Sure. Whatever you say, kid.”

The other bouncer was back and gave a nod towards Chris. “The boss will see you.”

“Thanks!” Chris said before stepping towards him and spreading his arms, letting the man frisk him. After he was deemed safe to enter, he turned expectantly towards the bouncer who was manning the line and the guy begrudgingly let Stefan in. The kid swaggered past him with a smug smile, following Chris inside while his men brought up the rear.

The loud music and stench of a full night club almost made Chris cringe but he quickly schooled his face and shook his head a couple of times to regain his equilibrium by numbing that part of his werewolf senses so he was able to navigate among the writhing bodies on the dance floor.

“Hey, man! Where’re we goin?” Stefan asked.

Chris was surprised when he noticed the kid was following him instead of running off to find his friends. When he’d first noticed the guy facing off with the much bigger and stronger bouncer without fear, he was curious and his curiosity was piqued further when he caught the scent of werewolf on him.

“There’re your friends.” Chris pointed with his chin towards a corner booth with four youngsters waving wildly at them and shouting Stefan’s name.

The young blond huffed. “So? They left me hangin’ outside when we’re supposed to be enjoying the night together. Some friends they are.”

Chris snorted. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

“No. I came here to study. The first one in generations to leave my town, got a scholarship and all that.”

“And yet you stumble into a nightclub on a school night,” Chris quipped, sending a smirk at the kid.

“Hey, you’re not my old man. Besides, while we’re young, you know.”

They reached the corner of the room where circular stairs led up to the second floor landing where the VIP guests got first class service. Chris signaled to the waiter, a pretty lady in a miniskirt who was serving a costumer nearby.

“This is Stefan,” said Chris clapping Stefan on his back. “Bring him the best liquor you’ve got!”

“Sure thing!”

The waiter then whistled towards the bar to call a friend. A blond girl approached this time and quickly shepherded Stefan towards a nearby booth and served him a glass of malt whiskey. Chris saw the waiter sit down to chat with Stefan instead of leaving to attend to other costumers. He made a mental note to remind the kid to tip her well.

“So, haven’t seen you around lately. Where’ve you been?” The first waiter asked after she had made sure that Chris’ friend was being well looked after. “Heard lot’s of rumors about you and most of them not good.”

Chris looked around the VIP lounge for a moment before steering the girl toward a rather secluded corner behind a monstrous lava lamp.

“Come on, Dree,” Chris cajoled. “You know better than to trust those rumors.”

“I dunno, kind of hard not to, seeing how often you’ve disappeared lately. Also, I heard there’s a new Mofo on the Ackles’ front who’s been eliminating traitors,” Dree told him quietly.

“Whose side are you on then?”

“Don’t get political on me now, Kane. I don’t give a shit about any of it but me and the girls are worried. What if this shit gets out of hand and the club got blown up like the ‘Crown’ a couple of months ago?” Dree hissed anxiously.

“I can’t promise that it won’t come to that,” Chris replied truthfully but when he saw the worried pinch that marred Dree’s pretty face, he felt bad for scaring her. “But I know for sure that it won’t happen tonight.”

“What about tomorrow when you’re not here?”

Chris rubbed her arm and offered her a smile as an attempt to soothe her worries. “Is Rob in?” he asked, nodding his head towards the office behind the VIP bar.

Dree sighed. “Yeah, probably flipping his shit right now, after hearing the news about Loney.”

“Well, that slimy rat got his due,” Chris said flippantly. “Don’t worry. As long as you stay out of it, you’ll be safe.”

Chris squeezed the girl’s arm comfortingly and headed for the office to see Rob, the manager of the club. He was supposed to be one of the Ackles’ team, but Chris had known for a while that the guy had been dealing with Sheppard’s organization for the past year. Chris had been keeping a low profile ever since he found Jensen, making it easier for him to trim traitors and backstabbers from the Ackles’ ranks. Most of them thought that he still worked for Sheppard, so he might as well take advantage of it.

Turning towards his two men, Chris ordered them to stay outside while he went in. “You guys stay here and don’t let anyone in. I’ll call when it’s done.”

“Sure boss!”

When Chris turned the knob on Rob’s office door, he was surprised that it was locked. He banged on it a couple of times before the door was opened.

“Since when d’you lock your door, man?” grumbled Chris as he barged into the luxurious office.

“Since there’s a son of a bitch offing people out there,” answered Rob anxiously as he closed the door and pushed the lock back in.

“Traitors you mean,” Chris corrected, amused. He claimed the love seat in the corner near the door and watched as the small guy paced the length of his office, occasionally running his twitchy fingers through his hair.

“Yeah, yeah, semantics, you know. We all work for ourselves. Is it my fault that I wanna be rich? Sheppard offered a better deal and with Alan out of commission for years even before his passing, I thought it was a good chance for me to look for other revenue.”

“But your first deal was with the Ackles, am I correct?” Chris asked. He already knew about Rob’s deal with the Ackles from the files that Jensen had got from his lawyer and that man was meticulous about keeping records. “You were supposed to give the Ackles their 50% cut of your club income but you siphoned half of it off to Sheppard and changed the books to cover your tracks.”

“I needed the money to start this drug business with Sheppard. Hell, you delivered it yourself, remember?”

“Yeah, sure, I remember.”

“And now most of the people I know are either dead or disappeared, probably also dead. What am I supposed to do now, Kane?” Rob shouted, his panic bordering on hysterics, which amused Chris greatly.

“You made your bed, pal. You may as well sleep in it,” Chris commented with a shrug.

“What … but … but you’re in this too! What did Sheppard say? He’s got to help me, Kane. I don’t wanna die!”

“Hey, I’m just a courier. You made the decision to steal from the Ackles. You probably should have thought about it more carefully before going behind their backs. As for Sheppard, I don’t think he’ll care if you live or die. He’ll just start the business with someone else.”

Rob was struck dumb by Chris’ words. He stood frozen on the spot, mouth agape and eyes comically wide as he tried to process what Chris had told him. “He… he can’t do that. I pay on time and cover the loss…”

“With the Ackles’ money,” Chris finished Rob’s words and the small guy paled even further. “Come on, man. You gotta know the risk when you start this game.”

Rob frowned and stared at Chris for a few seconds before timidly asking, “Why are you here, Kane?”

“Why am I here? Gardening.” Chris stated cheerfully.

“Gardening,” Rob parroted.

“Yes. D’you know how hard it is to be a gardener? My job is to keep the garden neat and tidy, including and not limited to trimming wild branches, pulling out weeds and burying gnarled roots. Jensen hates an untidy garden.”

“Jensen? As in Jensen Ackles?” Rob asked but Chris only smirked and watched as the expression changed on Rob’s face as he started to connect the dots. “So, it was you who killed all those people.”

Chris snapped his fingers and pointed at Rob. “Smart man!”

“But… but you work for Sheppard…” Rob spluttered, confused.

“Worked for Sheppard,” Chris corrected. “But actually, I was working for Alan Ackles even before I joined Sheppard’s ranks. So, yeah…” Chris waved his hand nonchalantly. “Now, Rob, my man, please don’t take this personally. To be honest, I kinda like you but when you steal from the family…” Chris trailed off and casually stood up and took a step towards Rob.

Sensing danger, Rob rushed to his desk to retrieve his hidden gun. Chris had only taken five steps when a gunshot rang out and he dodged it too late which meant the bullet hit his right shoulder.

“Fuck!” Chris swore.

Luckily, the gun was of only a small caliber that didn’t quite pack the punch required and was shot by a man with trembling hands, that made the wound almost superficial to Chris. He flexed his muscles and gritted his teeth when the pain stabbed his nerves. He looked up at Rob and growled. “Bad move, pal.”

Rob gasped when Chris’ nails lengthened and his teeth sharpened. He aimed his gun towards the advancing werewolf and pressed the trigger as Chris leapt at him. The bullet grazed Chris’ side but his claws slashed Rob’s neck in one strike that sent the man to the floor, choking to death on his own blood.

 

 

Jensen pulled out his phone the moment it vibrated in his pocket, Chris’ name flashed on his screen. “Ackles.”

_“It’s done,”_ Chris reported.

“Make sure you clean the place up and leave no trace. I don’t wanna hear Jeff bitching at me again about any sloppiness. That area is your responsibility for now, Kane. The men will report to you directly until I deem the cost clear. Sheppard plays around in the area too often. I don’t want any more leaks. Make Rob’s death an example to the others that I don’t tolerate betrayal in any form,” Jensen ordered.

_“You can trust me, boss!”_

“Good! I hope you’re ready to face Sheppard head on because after this, there’ll be no more stealth. The cleanup is over and after we get the Arlington werewolves on our side, we’ll attack.”

_“I met with the pack leader yesterday, Ed Burns. Kind of difficult to convince the guy but the others were kind of easy to sway once I told them about Jared,”_ said Chris.

“Aren’t they supposed to be wary of omegas? Like Genevieve?” asked a bewildered Jensen.

_“People have different opinions but despite the bloody history of omegas many werewolves are curious because of their uniqueness. We’re creatures of power, Jensen. Hell, we pick our leaders by fighting and the lore says that an omega is capable of destroying a pack if he’s so willing. That kind of influence and power are scary, yes, but intriguing nonetheless,”_ Chris explained.

“So, they want proof,” Jensen stated. “That I really am a worthy leader, the Alpha. They want to see the Omega.”

_“They want proof that there really is an omega within our pack, a mated omega because an unmated omega will only cause chaos. They will follow him, not you.”_

“Charming! You know, I should feel offended but strangely I don’t. Let Jared take the spotlight within the werewolf community. I’m happy to work behind the scenes as long as it gets my organization running and helps me reach my goal.”

Chris chuckled. _“You want to compete with Jared as to which one of you will be the backseat driver?”_

“What backseat driver? I’ll be the driver, period. Jared just needs to smile prettily and wave his hands,” Jensen quipped cheekily and he had to keep the phone away from his ear when Chris’ booming laugh filled his eardrum. Raising his eyebrow in amusement, he ended the call and stowed his phone away just as someone knocked on his office door. “Come in!”

Danni strode in and pirouetted in front of him, showing off her new curve hugging, strapless red and gold dress with thigh high slit. She let her hair fall down her back in elegant waves and wore  red, six inch heels to show off her sexy legs.

“What d’you think?” she asked with a wink and a seductive smile, hands poised on her hips.

Jensen raised his eyebrows as he checked her out. Danneel looked stunning and he was sure that he wasn’t the only red-blooded-male she’d make drool at her feet, straight or otherwise. “Why d’you ask me? Shouldn’t you be asking Gen, instead?”

The red head sighed exasperatedly. “If I want a compliment I’ll go to her. She thinks I’m pretty even if I’m in a burlap sack,” Danni deadpanned. Jensen snorted. “I need to charm my way into Sheppard’s ranks of vile men. You’re a guy. Do you think I’m sexy? Would you fall at my feet because of my sexiness?” Danni drawled, dragging the ‘s’ with a long sigh. Jensen knew that she intended it to sound alluring but the effect fell short on him somehow.

With a chuckle, Jensen said, “A few months ago, I might but…” Then, he looked her up and down before smirking, “Yeah, I think they’ll worship the ground you walk on.”

Danni smiled in satisfaction. She raised her chin and sauntered out of Jensen’s office. “I’ll be out late, probably not even coming home tonight. Don’t wait up!” she said haughtily.

“It seems you forget who’s the boss around here,” Jensen retorted before smiling to himself and shaking his head in amusement.

He hoped he would be spared this kind of craziness from the Arlington pack members. He couldn’t imagine what their reaction would be towards his Omega. Genevieve was still avoiding Jared, no matter what Jensen said to assuage her anxiety. She’d almost burst into tears when Jensen made her apologize to Jared for her rude behavior in the gym.

Things were starting to fall into place, just like he’d planned. Soon, Sheppard would realize that his moles were all eliminated, if he hadn’t already. Jensen needed to stay one step ahead of this guy and to prepare for the retaliation. His father had always reminded him not to underestimate his enemy and Sheppard was certainly not one to take lightly. From what Chris had told him, he knew that Sheppard hated to lose and he had a personal vendetta towards Alan Ackles for the destruction of his secret lab. That was why the first thing he did once he’d walked out of prison was bomb one of the Ackles’ clubs. It was payback and Jensen’s capture was the icing on the cake.

Now it was time to settle the debt.


	7. White Sky

 

 

 

  
Jensen’s life had changed when Jared and his mom came to live with him and his dad. He remembered thinking how the six years old kid had trampled all over his heart with his goofy smiles and silly floppy hair; had taken away his dad’s attention and had prevented his mom from ever returning home. At the time Jensen had considered himself the only one who’d been hurt never even thinking that perhaps Jared was hurt too after losing his father.  For a long ten years, he was filled with anger, grief and jealousy and had focused all of those feelings towards Jared just to ease his own pain.

Then, it had all changed when Jared left. He remembered thinking how everything could have been different. He and Jared could had been best friends, could had been brothers and Jared wouldn’t have had to leave. For the next ten years, he was tormented by guilt and had tried his best to make up for it towards his stepbrother secretly; still too prideful to apologize and too ashamed to let go of the guilt.

When he’d decided to bring Jared back home, he knew that things would change once more but he hadn’t prepared for this. He came to the realization that Jared had been there all along. Jared had been in his life, in his mind and in his heart from the moment that silly little kid stepped into his bedroom asking him to play. Twenty years later, found Jensen stood in front of his kitchen window wondering when the anger and hatred that he’d felt before had turned into feelings of fondness and longing; when had the fire of jealousy that he’d felt burning his stomach turned into the flapping of butterflies when he heard Jared’s laughter ringing around the backyard of his home. He knew he’d wronged Jared when he took him without his consent at the cabin; it was just was one more thing to add to the list of things that Jensen had done to hurt Jared. It was quite a long list and despite his earlier conviction that Jared had chosen him, he still felt somewhat guilty over it. Jared’s werewolf mind might have found him worthy, might had seen something in Jensen that made him think of him as Alpha, Jared’s Alpha. If only he could make Jared’s human mind see it too. Jared had been hurt too long, Jensen knew. It would be hard for Jared to suddenly trust him considering their childhood history but Jensen was nothing if not determined. He was a mob boss. He had power and resources at the tip of his fingers. He was the leader of a pack of werewolves that was soon to be the strongest werewolf pack, as well as crime organization, in Texas. He _would_ have his mate and would be nothing without him.

Jared burst through the kitchen door dragging a laughing Cindy. The poor girl was hanging onto his shoulder and holding her stomach as tears ran down her cheeks.

“…and then… and then he said …”

“Stop, stop it… I can’t…” Cindy gasped through her laughter, mock-slapping Jared’s cheek repeatedly. Jared just smiled at her and continued with his apparently very funny story that was sending Cindy into howls of laughter.

“Seems like you guys are having fun,” said Jensen in greeting.

“Oh, I need to sit down,” Cindy said after she somehow regained her breath.

Jared led her to the nearest kitchen chair. Jensen quickly snatched a glass from the upper cupboard and filled it with tap water before depositing it in front of her. He took her hand and wrapped her fingers around the glass. “You guys sit tight. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”

Jared quickly took the chair next to Cindy, an excited expression on his face. “What’s for dinner? I smell meat.”

“Steak,” Jensen answered with a smile.

“Really?” Jared frowned. “Wait, no grill?”

Jensen had been waiting for this question. “No. It’s a stovetop steak.” Then, he winked at Jared. “Trust me, it’s good.”

Jared raised his eyebrows at Jensen. “Okay, but I reserve judgment until I taste it,” Jared said, lifting his chin in challenge. “If it’s as good as you say it is…”

“You’ll have to agree to go out with me,” Jensen finished, raising his tongs and pointing them at Jared. Jared looked surprised by Jensen’s sudden invitation but quickly recovered and stepped up to the challenge.

“Deal!”

Jensen smirked and turned back around to flip the steak.

“Why are you cooking anyway? Where’s the cook?” Cindy asked.

“I gave her the day off. Her son’s sick,” Jensen answered almost casually while silently hoping that Cindy didn’t question it further. Maria, his cook, and Cindy had become close ever since Cindy came to live with him at the house. She must have known that Maria’s son wasn’t sick and he’d told her to stay at home anyway because he wanted to cook something for Jared. It was a full moon night and the sky was bright; a perfect night for a date but he needed to cajole, or if necessary trick, Jared into it because he knew that his stepbrother wouldn’t go with him willingly just because he’d asked.

Jensen flipped the meat one last time before dropping a knob of butter and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce into his pan. He was going to turn off the stove and baste the meat when he heard the sound of chair legs scrapping the floor. He turned to see Cindy standing up from her chair, quickly assisted by Jared.

“Where’re you going?” Jared asked.

“I need to finish my chapter tonight,” Cindy said.

“Can’t you do it later? Dinner’s almost ready,” Jared said, sounding disappointed. “Jensen’s been cooking. We can mock his cooking skills together if the steak turns out bad.”

“Hey!” Jensen shouted indignantly. Jared grinned at him, eyes glinting mischievously.

“Please don’t take it personally, Jensen. I’m sure your steak’s going to be just awesome. But you know me when I was in the middle of my writing,” Cindy said, turning in Jensen’s general direction.

“Sure Cin. Next time we’ll have a big dinner out back with the whole family, barbeque perhaps?  It’ll be fun,” Jensen promised.

“It’s a date,” Cindy said, smiling. There was something in her smile and Jensen knew her enough to recognize that smile. Cindy had worked out his plan and she wanted to give them some alone time. Jensen reminded himself to buy her the audio book of the newest edition of the best-seller series that she loved. “I’ll be alright on my own, Jared.”

“But…” Jared started to protest but Cindy stopped him with a touch on his arm.

“Hey, I’ve been happily navigating this house since before you arrived and I have my trusted walking stick with me.” Cindy proved it by reaching into her hoodie’s pocket to retrieve her collapsible walking stick. She whipped the stick down and tapped it a couple of times on the floor before waving. “Have fun, you two!”

Jensen chuckled. “Sit down, Jared! Your steak will be ready in a few.”

He set the steak aside, letting it cook by itself while he poured red wine into two tall glasses. He put Cindy’s glass into the sink and took two candles and holders out of a drawer. He could feel Jared’s confused stare while he arranged the candles on the table and lit them. Next, he brought the wine and steaks to the table.

“What’s this?” Jared asked, eyeing the meat and wine in front of him with interest.

“Candle light dinner,” Jensen answered, smiling widely.

“Why?”

“Why not? The house’s quiet and the full moon’s bright tonight,” Jensen said, gesturing towards the kitchen window where they could see the backyard basking in the silvery light of the moon.

“Where’s everybody, anyway?”

“Out,” Jensen answered, grabbing the cutlery from one of the drawers under the counter. “Chris and the girls have a job and probably won’t be back until late tomorrow afternoon,” He explained further. Yet, the truth was that he had told them that morning to make themselves scarce for the rest of the day. Chris, the pervert, just grinned knowingly and waggled his eyebrows at him while Genevieve smiled encouragingly. He knew that she was sincere in her support and he truly appreciated it. Yet, he still caught the wary look in her eyes, albeit briefly. Jensen understood that she was still adjusting herself to Jared’s presence and was glad that she at least tried her best to be civil to him whenever they were in the house. It was just as well because he didn’t want Jared to think that he was unwelcome. “It’s just us tonight. Nice isn’t it?”

“Yeah and it smells delicious.” Jared leaned over and inhaled the steak’s aroma in one deep breath, moaning obliviously. His husky voice shot through Jensen and right into his stiffening cock making the Alpha stumble, almost dropping the cutlery in his hands. His senses were on overdrive, anticipating his plans for the night. Jensen quickly steadied himself by grabbing the back of his chair before deliberately walking around the small table to get a couple of napkins from the cabinet next to where Jared was standing. He touched Jared’s hips and guided the taller man into a chair opposite his. He dragged his hand along Jared’s broad back and squeezed the back of his neck when he sat down. His heart skipped when his fingertips skimmed over a patch of raised skin on the back of Jared’s neck. He knew that with their healing ability, it was impossible for a werewolf to retain a scar for long. So, it must be the leftover scar from that night at the cabin. Chris had told him that it was highly possible that Jensen had mated Jared that night, which would explain the pull he had been feeling every time Jared and he were close.

A small gasp escaped Jared’s mouth and Jensen pulled his hand back. There was a growly voice at the back of his mind that told him to forgo this ridiculous courting and just take Jared then and there on top of the table. His inner wolf kept egging him on and eagerly supplying his mind with images of a naked Jared writhing and moaning wantonly on said kitchen table. He had to grab the edge of the kitchen counter and gritted his teeth to keep himself from jumping Jared’s delicious bones. This was the reason why he spent most of his day outside. Even at nights, when he was across the corridor from Jared, the temptation was strong. He was sure that Jared felt it too and probably it was only the Omega’s stubborn pride that had kept it reined in. Jensen, on the other hand, didn’t have the same pride and he wasn’t above groveling to get Jared’s affection. It was only his guilt and his stubborn determination to be in Jared’s good graces, to be considered worthy that had stopped him from doing so.

After arranging the cutlery, Jensen took a seat across from Jared and grabbed his napkin, preparing to eat. “Let’s eat!”

Jared quickly dug in. Jabbing his fork into the middle of the thick meat, he eagerly cut his way through it, licking his lips all the while. Jensen waited with baited breath when Jared tasted his first cut. He’d cooked the meat medium rare, which suited their werewolf tastes perfectly but let the outer layer brown to a crisp crust. He swore that the Omega was making love with his steak. The keening sound that came out of Jared’s mouth made him shudder with arousal.

“Great isn’t it?” Jensen asked in a strained voice.

“Hmmm … mmmmh perfect!” was Jared’s reply followed by more lip licking and moaning. Jensen had to adjust his pants a couple of times before he was able to enjoy his own steak but his attention quickly riveted back towards Jared. Seeing Jared devour his meat was like watching porn. He’d be surprised if the man didn’t come in his pants. The sound he was making when chewing and swallowing was enough to send all of Jensen’s blood southward.

Halfway through his meat, Jared reached for his wine and took a sip. “Hats off to you, man! This is the best steak I’ve ever have the pleasure of eating!” Jensen puffed his chest and smiled modestly while inside he was jumping around giddily. Strike one. “Where did you learn to cook like this?”

“It’s my secret. Wouldn’t be a secret if I tell you, right? It could ruin the mystery.”

“Oh, come on! I’ve had enough of secrets!” Jared whined.

“I’d be glad to share everything with you but not this one. Besides, you can’t cook.”

Jared grinned, unabashed. “I’d rather eat!” He quipped.

“That’s right!” Jensen agreed. “I’ll be happy to cook for you.”

“But, not in front of your minions and pack members, right? What would they think if they saw their fearless and heartless mob boss pottering around the kitchen?”

“It’d be atrocious!  And appallingly, unforgivably horrible!” Jensen gasped, playing along. “It’ll be our secret.” Jensen winked.

“I like that,” Jared said, smiling wide at Jensen. Strike two.

Jensen had learned early on that when Jared was in a good mood he was all smiles and giddy exuberance that made him susceptible to persuasion. He wasn’t sure if it was the nature of omegas or if it was all Jared but he was ready to exploit it to the full.

After they’d cleaned up their plates, on Jared’s part that went as far as licking his cutlery, Jensen pulled Jared up from his chair and guided him outside.

“You’ve promised to go out with me,” Jensen said. “Now, strip!”

Jared’s eyes went wide when Jensen ordered him to strip but Jensen didn’t give him a chance to protest, quickly pulling his own clothes off before shifting into his wolf form. The powerful feeling and sense of freedom every time he stood on four feet never got old. He couldn’t stop himself from running around his backyard basking under the full moon light. Nearing the line of trees that marked his fresh new garden, Jensen turned around to bark at Jared, calling his mate. Clothes were soon flying in the air and Jared was at his side in seconds, wagging his tail eagerly and darting past him and into the garden. ‘The brat!’ Jensen thought fondly as he enthusiastically followed his stepbrother-slash-mate’s trail on a moonlit chase.

 

It was almost like before, when everything was simple; when every full moon night was spent in the backyard, running around and generally having a lot of fun. His mother had always told him not to shift in front of people and she always took him deep into the woods before allowing him to shift and they never approached the house whenever they were in their wolf form. Once, he’d asked her why and she had only told him that most people don’t understand and some would even hate him. Remembering the way Jensen had treated him at the time; he had involuntarily shuddered in terror imagining the torment that he would go through if Jensen had found out about Jared’s freaky ability. So, he knew how to keep it quiet.

Jared stopped by the copse of apple trees in the middle of the garden surrounding a small round clearing. He weaved around the trees while sniffing at the bark. The trees didn’t have any scent on them, so he marked them with his urine, making them his. He saw Jensen standing a couple of feet away, looking amused. He barked at him twice, challenging the Alpha to protest but Jensen just stood there grinning at him like a fool. Jared was confused. Jensen was Alpha and this was his property, he shouldn’t let Jared mark his property like that. With no challenge coming from Jensen, Jared turned around and darted deeper into the woods at the end of the garden.

The trees were bigger there in the woods and unevenly spaced. The undergrowth was higher and thicker. A thick canopy of leaves hung high above him preventing the moonlight from shining through, blanketing darkness over the wood in an eerie silence.

Jensen suddenly jumped at him from the side and they rolled around, wrestling each other for a few seconds before the Alpha jumped away and ran under thick bushes. Jared chased him.

Brambles clung to his fur as he navigated his way into the bushes in a crouch. He found Jensen a few moments later, burrowing among the roots where he’d dug into the ground a few inches. Jared squeezed next to him, looking through the leaves. At first he didn’t see anything amiss but his nose quickly caught the scent. A rabbit. The mammal’s dark fur blended almost perfectly into the darkness of the woods as it sniffed the ground looking for fallen seeds and eating grass. It jumped closer towards their bushes while stopping to eat here and there and Jensen’s muscles tensed. Jared could literally feel the excitement of the hunt thrumming under his fur as he trained his eyes on the small mammal just a few feet in front of them. It made Jared excited too.

When he was a little kid, he could only shift once a month, often longer than that depending on whether the it was safe for him to do it. He remembered there were always a lot of people working in the house, so he had to walk deep into the woods before stripping to shift. Sometimes, he felt it was too much of a bother and he often didn’t do it, just spent the whole night in the backyard with his mother, reading, talking about his day or sometimes having a picnic under the full moon. Jensen had usually been holed up in his room doing God knows what, scowling at him the next day and being his usual horrible self. Now, he wondered if Jensen was jealous of him then. He was having fun with his mom; sometimes with Alan too when he could spare his time, while Jensen, having lost his own mom at a young age, couldn’t really let go of her.

He felt Jensen nudge him with his snout and he snapped himself out of the memory to concentrate on the hunt before him. The rabbit was getting closer and Jensen shifted almost soundlessly next to him, feet tensed under him. Jared copied his stance and held his breath. He jumped out of the bushes a second after Jensen. The rabbit was smarter than they thought. It ran the moment it sensed danger. They were hot on its trail. The chase was over quickly no matter how fast the rabbit could jump; their strong wolf feet were quicker. Jared managed to overtake Jensen a few seconds before the final pounce and quickly sank his fangs into the rabbit’s warm neck. It struggled for a moment before going limp between his teeth. He sat on his haunches, proudly showing off his catch to Jensen.

 

 

Jensen felt pride swell inside of him. Granted, he had intentionally slowed down just a few seconds before they caught up with the rabbit and he was glad that he had because seeing Jared proudly displaying his catch was so worth it. He grinned and barked at him a couple of times to compliment him of his prowess. Jared looked happy and Jensen could just imagine how his dimples would appear on human Jared’s cheeks. Jensen had a strong urge to pet and cuddle him because the image he’d conjured in his mind was so cute. But then Jared shifted his front feet with uncertainty in his eyes before he dropped the carcass on the ground. Jensen stepped closer and nudged the rabbit towards him. Jared had hunted it, thus he had the rights to the rabbit. Jensen didn’t understand why he didn’t just tear into it like he would have. Instead of taking a bite into the still warm and juicy rabbit, Jared stepped back and growled at him. It was then that Jensen realized that despite the fact that he enjoyed hunting, Jared didn’t have any intention of eating the meat. He liked hunting as it was in his nature as a werewolf but he drew a firm line on eating the rare, bloody meat. It was weird.

Jensen shifted, which prompted Jared to shift too.

“Hey, let’s go back to the house and dress the meat,” Jensen said as he reached for the rabbit’s ears.

Jared looked relieved and quickly agreed. “Okay!”

They both stood up and in a moment of affection, Jensen stepped closer towards Jared to wipe the rabbit blood from his lips. “You got a… blood on your lips. Here, let me…” He wiped the blood and let his fingers linger on Jared’s lower lip, tracing its plump shape with the pad of his thumb. He glanced up and saw that Jared had closed his eyes. Unable to resist the temptation any longer, Jensen leaned closer and tentatively touched his lips to Jared’s. He could hear his blood rushing in his ears and soon it was heading towards his lower regions, making him lightheaded.  He felt Jared lean closer, pressing his own lips firmly on Jensen’s and Jensen was gone.

His senses were filled with Jared. His heart beat for him and his mind focused only on him; the way he moaned his pleasure when Jensen licked into his mouth; the way his muscles contracted under his fingertips when Jensen touched him in a certain way. He couldn’t get enough of his mate. He let his hands roam the expanse of Jared’s broad back and his wide shoulders, gliding over his narrow hips and palming his firm buttocks. Jared jerked his hips forward, pressing both their rock hard cocks together. Guttural moans rumbled from their throats as they slid against each other.

Jared got one muscular thigh between Jensen’s legs and wrapped his long arms around Jensen’s shoulder, pulling him closer while Jensen gripped his hips tightly and rubbed their cocks together in delicious semi-circles mimicking the movement of his tongue inside Jared’s mouth. Jensen walked him backwards, pushing his back to a nearby tree before proceeding to attack his neck vigorously. The sturdy trunk of the tree provided the leverage that he needed as he lifted one of Jared’s legs around his hip and rocked into his body. They were breathing faster and faster and Jensen’s booming roar reverberated through the forest as he sank his claws into the tree behind Jared while Jared’s claws raked his back.

When Jensen couldn’t take it anymore he looked at Jared and growled, asking in not so many words his permission to mate him. He wanted so badly to lick the wetness between Jared’s legs and have his fill of his Omega’s juice but his hard cock had been teased mercilessly the past few hours making the swollen knot so painful he just wanted to come. Jared answered him with his own purr as he tilted his head against the tree showing Jensen the long expanse of his delectable neck. It was a blatant invitation as far as Jensen was concerned and he couldn’t hold back any longer. In one fluid motion, he sank his teeth into Jared’s neck and shifted his hips jamming his cock into his mate’s drenched and waiting hole. His knot had been half-swollen for some time preventing him from entering Jared completely but he was more than happy to rut against him despite that.

Jensen felt his knot grow bigger and bigger and his passion got higher and higher as the clench of Jared’s inner muscles sent him into a tailspin of lust, desire and something deeper that he usually ignored. There, under the canopy of trees in the middle of the woods, the only thing that mattered to him was Jared, not revenge or even his father’s legacy. It gave him a kind of clarity that had eluded him all his life. He realized that things would’ve been much easier if only he’d opened himself up to others. Giving in didn’t mean losing; not if he could have this.

His orgasm hit him hard and he almost lost his grasp on the tree. The come came out of Jared’s abused hole in rivulets since his knot was hanging outside Jared’s rim but it didn’t lessen the shudder that ran through his body. He was certain that he’d also managed to spray the tree at one point. Jared mewled loudly and his body spasmed against Jensen’s as his inner muscles clenched his softening length tightly, milking him to the last drop. The sudden burst of Jared’s come splattered both their chests and painted Jared’s long, gorgeous neck, shining white under the moonlight in contrast to his healthy tan skin. He was the most beautiful creature Jensen had ever seen in his life.

Jensen was enjoying the post coital kisses when he felt a pair of hands push against his chest. He wanted to ignore it because he loved kisses and he’d just found out that kissing with his mate was the best but the hands were persistent and Jensen had to concede. He teased his mate’s bottom lip with his teeth, earning a moan from Jared as he pulled away. It was with deep reluctance that Jensen disentangled his body from Jared’s. He wanted to savor the moment; capture the image of Jared naked and drenched in his own come and sear it permanently into his mind. But the Omega was suddenly acting shy, quickly gathering leaves from the shrubs around them to clean himself up. Jensen copied him; cleaning Jared’s come from his chest as best as he could while stealing glances of his mate.

Jared seemed at a loss as to what to do, standing awkwardly against the tree and refusing to look at Jensen. He tried to sense Jared’s mood but the endorphins that flooded his upper brain had numbed his senses. He hoped that Jared didn’t regret what they had done. Unlike their first mating, he believed their recent coupling had been mutual as Jared wasn’t under the influence of his heat.

“Come on, I think we better go back,” Jensen said.

Jared quickly shifted into his wolf form and walked a few feet ahead before turning around to wait patiently for Jensen as he looked for the discarded rabbit. He found it under the bushes and took its hind legs between his teeth before trotting after his waiting mate. Jensen walked beside Jared contentedly, feeling the same happy vibration from Jared. The Omega, perhaps unconsciously, kept brushing their shoulders together and never strayed farther than a few inches from him. Jensen considered it a good sign that Jared had started to accept him, maybe even forgive him. Werewolves were complex creatures. Even though Jared’s wolf instinct had chosen him as his worthy mate, his human mind had difficulty grasping the concept of mating his stepbrother, whom he’d despised all his life. Twenty years was a long time and to wash away the hurt and hate that had persisted for such a long time was not an easy feat but Jensen was willing to spend the rest of his life making it up to Jared. When his inner wolf had fallen for the Omega, it was all biology but when his conscious mind fell for Jared, it was purely his choice.

Jensen let Jared put his clothes back on while he walked into the kitchen naked. He snatched a knife on his way to the kitchen counter and quickly began dressing the rabbit to preserve it for his cook. He’d tell her that it was Jared’s catch so she’d have to make something delicious for him out of it tomorrow. Jared loved to eat and if the way to Jared’s heart was through his stomach then Jensen would do everything in his power to always provide him with the best food, especially if the meal was made from something he’d caught. Jared would be delighted, Jensen thought with a pleased grin.

“Hey, don’t you want to put your clothes on?” Jared asked, holding Jensen’s clothes.

Jensen shook his head. “Nah, I’m gonna finish this up first then wash,” he said, gesturing to the water faucet and its attached hose coiled under the kitchen window outside. “Get rid of the dirt and blood.”

“Okay then. I’ll put your clothes here,” Jared said hanging Jensen’s clothes on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. “I’ll… uh… turn in first.”

“Sure, oh wait!” Jensen stopped Jared when the man was on his way out of the kitchen. “When Chris returns tomorrow we’re going to visit the Arlington werewolves and I’ll need you to come along.”

Jared frowned. “Why?”

“’Cause they’ll only listen to you.”

“I’m just an Omega. Why would they listen to me when you’re the Alpha?” Jared asked, shaking his head in confusion.

“Boy, you need to brush up on your lore. Don’t worry we’ll brief you before we go.” Jensen chuckled.

“Okay. As long as it helps us destroy Sheppard and his organization as soon as possible,” Jared said before turning around to head towards his room.

Jensen tried not to read too much into what Jared had said. Of course Jared would want to kill Sheppard because the bastard had killed his parents. Still, he couldn’t help but listen to the small voice in his head that whispered that perhaps there was another reason why Jared wanted to kill Sheppard as soon as possible. Maybe it was because he couldn’t wait to get away from him. He recalled the contentment and happiness that he felt coming from Jared just a few minutes ago and knew that the feeling was real since Jared had never been able to mask his feelings from when he was a little kid. His stepbrother always wore his heart on his sleeve.

Jensen let out a long sigh and quickly finished up the meat before cleaning himself with the water hose in the backyard. He put on his pants and went upstairs to his room. He lingered in front of Jared’s door for a few long seconds before going to his own room.

 

 

**Suburban Arlington …**

 Jared looked out of the window of the SUV as they drove through the slum streets of Arlington. His stomach churned when he saw the bad living conditions of the people there. “We should meet them someplace safe. This block looks dangerous,” Jared said. Then he saw a group of kids fighting on the sidewalk. “Look at those kids! Isn’t there anyone who’s gonna stop them?!” Jared exclaimed, horrified. “This is awful! Shouldn’t they be in school or something?”

“That’s life, Jared, and they got dealt shit cards. Now, listen. There’re a few things you need to know about this pack,” Jensen started.

Jared reluctantly turned away from the window. He was still upset about what he’d just seen but knew that he was powerless to do anything. Chris had said that the area was ruled by Sheppard’s men but if they could kill Sheppard and take over his organization maybe he could persuade Jensen to do something for those kids. He imagined Jensen would say, ‘I’m running a crime organization, Jared, not a charity!’

“Jared, are you listening to me?” Jensen’s real voice snapped Jared out of his musings. He pouted as Jensen looked exasperatedly at him and Chris chuckled.

“Stay sharp, kid. It’ll keep you safe, especially in this part of town,” Chris advised.

“Just remember that you’re in charge here.” Jensen reminded him. “We don’t know what exactly will happen there with you being an Omega in a room full of werewolves but we’ve got your back.”

“I don’t think they’ll harm you, but it’s better to be cautious,” Chris added with a reassuring smile.

“Is this Ed gonna be trouble later?” Jensen asked. “He’s already the leader of this small pack. I don’t think he’s gonna just roll over and hand over the leadership.”

“You’re underestimating the influence of an Omega,” Chris said.

“I don’t get it,” Jared said, still confused on this whole werewolf lore. “If Jensen’s the Alpha, why would they listen to me?”

Chris leaned forward in his seat, putting his elbows on his knees and looking intently into Jared’s eyes as he explained, “Jared, Jensen may be pack leader but he’s _your_ Alpha. Your bond with Jensen only happens because you wish it. If you want you can sever it and even order him be killed. The pack will listen to you. You don’t rule the pack but you hold power over it.”

Jared gulped. All his life, he’d never lead anyone. No one should entrust him with that much power over people. He turned to look at Jensen and huffed when he saw a playful smirk on the Alpha’s lips. If Jensen had told him this, he would’ve assumed it was a joke; that his stepbrother was only pulling his leg but Chris didn’t seem like the guy who would joke about something like this.

“Is it okay if I don’t go?” Jared asked timidly. “You can tell them I’m sick or something.” Jared slumped in dismay when both Jensen and Chris shook their heads.

“Hey, don’t worry,” Jensen said, “Just do what I told you back at the house. You’ll be okay.” Jensen promised, reaching across the seat to hold his hand. Jared welcomed it, needed something to hold onto, to sooth his jumpy nerves. See, this was why he shouldn’t lead. Even with the comfort from Jensen he couldn’t believe any of this was true. The lore must be wrong. Chris must have been drunk when he learnt about it. Omega couldn’t be that powerful.

 

 

Jensen followed Chris’ shadow as the older man turned into a dark alley between two shady, old apartment buildings in Arlington. He’d never been in this part of town before, preferring the bright lights and crowds of people at his beck and call. He was aware that Megalyn came from this town where she’d spent the majority of her childhood fighting for a crust of bread. It was her strength and hardheadedness that had helped her survive the slums and it was also what made Jensen love her but hearing her telling her tale of childhood adventure and experiencing it were two different things.

“Why can’t we meet them at a club or a bar or something?” Jared muttered in what Jensen could only think of as disgust, as he glanced around the dirty alley. His earlier jitteriness seemed to have been forgotten. Jensen understood where Jared was coming from. His mate thought eating raw and bloody meat was disgusting. So, of course he’d turn up his nose when faced with filthy neighborhood.

“They don’t trust us, yet. They’d be worried it was a trap,” Jensen answered.

“And this isn’t?” Jared sniped. “I’ll not be surprised if we’re ambushed at the next corner.”

Jensen let out a tired sigh. Jared had been whining and complaining nonstop from the moment they’d arrived in Arlington, telling Jensen that it was a bad idea to meet a new pack of werewolves on unfamiliar territory. Jensen had explained to him that they needed their trust and cooperation and that meant allowing them to see Jared, the Omega, in person and on their turf.

A couple of guys in wool jackets stood under some old rusty stairs, sharing a joint back and forth. They eyed them suspiciously as they walked past. Jensen bristled and walked half a step in front of Jared to shield his mate from their scrutiny. Chris turned another corner and into a narrower but brighter alley, thanks to the neon lights that was hung above the doors into the building. A man in a black leather jacket stood next to one of the doors. He let Chris pass with no hassle but after seeing Jensen, he quickly straightened up and fished for something inside his jacket pocket. Jensen thought he saw a glint of metal beneath the sleeve and noticed the look in the man’s eyes had changed from boredom to excitement, with a just hint of danger. Jensen met the guy’s stare head on, giving him a predatory smile of his own and watched in gleeful satisfaction when the guy quickly averted his eyes and scurried away behind him. Chris looked back at him and frowned, a question in his eyes but Jensen only shrugged.

Chris stopped in front of a black door with a dim neon light above it and a small square peephole in the center. He knocked twice and the peephole opened for few seconds before someone unlocked the door and pulled it open. Jensen exchanged a look with Jared before following Chris in.

Despite the utterly desolate appearance of the outside, the inside of the apartment was in fact quite homey. Soft tone wallpaper decorated the walls and the antique wooden furniture was polished to a deep brown. The floorboards were full of scratches and nail marks and the polish had worn off from everyday use. The house was old and worn but clearly well kept and there was one thing that Jensen was sure about; there were no humans living in this house.

As they waited, more and more people came into the room, curious about the new visitors. Two guys took their place behind Jensen, standing guard by the front door while the others positioned themselves around Jensen, Jared and Chris. Jensen counted there were at least ten people there not including the three of them; seven guys and three girls with ages ranging from early twenties to mid forties. All of them had their eyes trained on Jared which made his mate nervous. And he shifted closer towards Jensen.

“You kept your promise!” exclaimed a tall guy in a black sleeveless vest who stood on the threshold of what Jensen could see was the living room. “I thought you bailed on us just like four years ago when you didn’t return from your last job.”

“Come on, Ed! You know I have my reasons for that. I saw an opportunity and I took the chance. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with that,” Chris answered. “I told you before that I didn’t intend to stay.”

“Well, you should’ve because we’re your kind, family. Werewolves stick together,” Ed growled.

“That’s why I’ve come back now. The reason why I joined Sheppard’s inner circle was to get inside information. I know that Sheppard owns the better part of Arlington’s underground operation, even the cops-”

“But not us!” snapped Ed.

“I know, Ed. And it’s even worse since Alan Ackles died, isn’t it? Even the street thugs are owned by Sheppard now. What’s left for you?”

The Werewolves looked at each other though they kept sneaking glances in Jared’s direction. Judging from the easy way Chris handled the situation, Jensen had to wonder what his relationship was with these werewolves. After that first day in the house, they’d had a couple more talks about Jensen’s plan to exact his revenge on Sheppard and also about where Chris’ and the girls’ loyalty lay. Chris had told Jensen out-right that he was an idiot to even question that, saying that he’d pick his own kind over smelly humans any time of the day and even if Sheppard had somehow turned into a werewolf, he’d kill him right then before he could learn to run on four legs. There was no question as to where the girls’ loyalties lay too, he was sure.

Chris was bound by his promise to Alan Ackles to protect Jared and with the passing of the mob boss, the responsibility officially fell on Jensen’s shoulders. From what Chris had told him, his father had a grand plan to bring together the local werewolves under his roof after learning the truth about them from Sherri. His father was quite a visionary but since he was only human, no werewolf would listen to him and the name Padalecki didn’t hold much weight in werewolf society. Besides, Jared was still a teenager and definitely unmated. An unmated Omega would only bring trouble and the fact that his family was kicked out of their pack because of him wouldn’t endear Jared to them. This time it seemed to be the right time to make that move.

“Is this him?” another guy in his late twenties asked, standing to Jensen’s left, staring at Jared.

“It’s rude to stare Jackson,” Chris chided easily.

Jared was fidgeting next to Jensen and Jensen had to grab his hand to calm him down. He’d thought that Jared would be used to being under the spotlight, being an actor and all that but it seemed these Arlington werewolves had intimidated him a bit.

“Jensen, I don’t like it here,” Jared whispered in Jensen’s ear. The slight tremble in his mate’s voice was enough to make Jensen snap. He could understand their curiosity but enough was enough.

“Will all of you stop with the staring?!” Jensen commanded “He’s an Omega, not a freak!”

The werewolves quickly averted their eyes. Jackson’s ears had even reddened, probably due to embarrassment.

“I… I’m sorry Omega. I didn’t mean it,” Jackson said quietly.

There was a scrapping sound and suddenly another guy with long curly red hair approached with a chair. “You can sit here.” He put the chair behind Jared and stared at him with what Jensen could only call adoration.

Jensen growled at him and the guy snapped his eyes up to Jensen, looking back and forth between him and Jared but didn’t let go of the chair. Jensen jerked the chair out of his hands and narrowed his eyes before pushing Jared gently down to sit on it. The guy retreated while still staring at his mate which irked Jensen no end.

“I’ll make you some coffee. Do you like coffee?” asked another guy who stood near the entrance. He quickly made his way towards the kitchen.

“I like mine black, Sid!” Chris called out.

“I’m not your servant!” Sid snapped. Chris just snickered.

“Please, I don’t like coffee,” Jared said.

Sid froze, face struck in horror as he stammered, “I’m very sorry, Omega. We only have coffee but I can get you anything. Whatever you want. I’ll get it for you,” Sid pleaded as he approached Jared, eager to please him.

“Shut up, Sid! He doesn’t want your help, so back off!” Another guy in his mid thirties stepped from behind Jared to push Sid away before turning towards Jared and talked to him in a softer voice. “Can I get you anything else, Omega?”

“Hey, hands off Angelo!” Sid shouted, indignantly shoving Angelo’s hand from his chest.

“Quiet, you two!” Ed barked. “Leave the Omega alone!”

Both Sid and Angelo grumbled about the unfairness of the situation while continuing to steal glances at Jared. Jensen wrapped an arm around Jared’s shoulder and instinctively pulled his mate closer to him, giving both men death glares.

“And who’re you?” Ed drawled, eyes fixed on Jensen.

Jensen lifted his chin and looked straight at Ed as he squeezed Jared’s shoulder. “Jensen Ackles, Alpha.”

One of the girls, the one with coffee colored skin and a pixie cut stepped forward until she was a few feet in front of Jared. She tilted her head on one side and her small nose flared as she took a couple of long sniffs and smiled. “A mated omega, huh? I didn’t believe it, at first, when Chris said that he’d bring you along. Thought he was just bullshitting us into another one of his tricks but seeing you here with your Alpha…” she chuckled, “luckily you’re mated already or these guys would be much, much worse. They’ll do anything just to get a slice of your affection,” the girl said, gesturing to the male werewolves around them. “So, how can I help you, Omega?”

Jared started and looked at Jensen for a few moments before saying, “Well, actually Jensen…” but he stopped and corrected his words when Jensen squeezed his shoulder. “Uh, I… I mean, I want to welcome all of you to Je… I mean to my pack. I want Sheppard dead for killing both my parents.” Jared said the last sentence in a strong, clear voice as Jensen had instructed him. Despite Jared’s reluctance, he and Chris had briefed him about mob politics and how to speak to the Arlington werewolves. They would only listen to him and follow his words and if Jared told them to follow Jensen, then to Jensen they would pledge their loyalty.

“That’s a good enough reason. I have to admit that things have been twice as hard here for us since Sheppard’s men took over the turf. Marty runs this block and he used to be one of Ackles’ but now it seems that he’s purposely making our lives difficult. I think he’s switched sides,” the girl said.

“I heard other gangs have also switched to Sheppard’s side. They harass us when we refuse to join them. We’d never work for humans and with the Ackles, they never forced us to join them. As long as we stayed out of their affairs, they left us alone,” said Jackson. The other guys nodded their head in agreement.

“So, this is your chosen Alpha?” Rose asked again, nodding at Jensen but still addressing her question at Jared.

“Yes, he is,” Jared affirmed.

Jensen met Rose’s eyes unwaveringly, showing her and everyone else in the room that he was a worthy Alpha and daring them to challenge his position. Jared’s firm answer boosted his confidence as he stood straighter next to him, puffing out his chest with pride.

“Then, you have my service, Alpha. Call me Rose,” she said, smirking.

“Thank you, Rose,” Jensen said.

“Wait a minute,” said Angelo suddenly. “Didn’t Ackles’ son die in the explosion at that club, what was it?” He snapped his fingers, trying to remember the name of the club. “The Crown, that’s name of the club.”

“I think Chris has told you not to trust the rumors. As you can see, I’m still alive and kickin’.”

“Who bit you?” Ed asked Jensen.

“I did,” answered Chris. “He was kidnapped and tortured by Sheppard because of us.”

“What d’you mean?” Rose asked.

Chris sighed. “Look, guys, I know that you thought of my leaving as an act of treachery and if you wanna be petty about it, fine by me. But you gotta trust me when I say that we have bigger things to worry about.” Chris let a few seconds of silence pass before continuing, “Sheppard has a suspicion of our existence. Imagine how the world would react when they find out that there’re a bunch of shape shifting beasts among them. We’ll be hunted and slaughtered. Or worse, Sheppard could capture us and enslave us for some sick human idea of entertainment and no one would give a damn because we’re just a bunch of animals anyway.”

The girls gasped at the words slave and slaughter which was understandable. The world wasn’t ready to accept werewolves living among them and Jensen didn’t know if the world would ever be ready for something like this. At best, the humans would hunt them down and kill them without question. At worst, well, Jensen felt ill just thinking about it. There wasn’t an easy option and they wouldn’t win either way. Not with the number of werewolves that existed around the world at the moment.

“I’ll kill them all!” Ed growled. “Let’s see if they can avoid my claws faster than I can slash them. I don’t fear no human!” His growl was echoed by the other male werewolves in the room besides Jensen and Chris.

“And they’ll shot you down quicker than you can kill a few of them. It’s not as if we’re immortal you fool! The regenerative system won’t kick if you’re brain dead and soon they’ll learn about the silver. Think!” snapped Chris as he pointed his finger to his temple. “Is that how you want your kids to die? Shot by thousands of bullets? Or chained in a slave ring somewhere because there’s no one to protect them? Huh?”

“Wait a minute, you have kids here?” Jensen asked. He was surprised that he’d never thought of that possibility. Now that he thought about it, he realized that besides turning people with their bite, werewolves could also procreate. Of course there were children, especially in a pack like the Arlington pack. He didn’t know what happened to a werewolf who married a human. Would they be able to procreate too? Since his dad and Sherri didn’t have a child, he couldn’t be sure if it was their choice to not have any or if it was more of the fact that their biology was simply out of sync.

“We have a few. They’re upstairs,” one of the girls answered, presumably the mother of the kids.

“That’s another reason why you should leave this place,” Chris continued. “I went to join Sheppard’s in the first place to gain information from his inner circle and I got my proof. The warehouse that was blown-up twenty years ago was one of his operations bases. Not only that, he was also experimenting with werewolf blood in a secret lab in that warehouse.”

Another murmur rose among the werewolves and Jensen could see that most of them started to really consider their offer despite Ed’s apparent reluctance. Jensen was sure that at the end of the day he’d have the Arlington pack on his side.

“I just remembered, a couple of guys were in my bar the other day,” Angelo said, finally taking his eyes off Jared, much to Jensen’s relief. “Askin’ around ‘bout weird things.”

“What weird things?” asked Chris as he shared a look with Jensen.

“Just if there’s some people who prefer to hang out when it’s full moon or if there are howls at night, that kinda thing.” The guy shrugged. “Ask Miguel! He was there. Tell ‘em!” He gestured to the man next to him but the man got upset at him instead.

“Shut up, Angelo!”

“Why didn’t you tell me this?” asked Ed. His jaw working furiously.

“I thought it was nothing, man. Just a couple of drunken guys.”  Angelo lifted his palm in a defensive gesture. Ed grunted his displeasure.

“Come on Ed,” cajoled Chris as he took a couple of steps closer towards Ed. “How long will you continue to hide like this? We have the same right to live as humans. Besides,” Chris paused to wince as he took on the condition of the place they lived in. “You need a better place. If not for yourself then at least for the kids. At the Ackles place you’ll get a better environment and we’ll provide them with better education.”

“And it’s gonna be a werewolf mob?” Ed asked. “’Cause I ain’t working for humans.”

“You won’t. There’ll be a new order in town. As you can see, a werewolf will lead the organization and he has all the Ackles family resources at his disposal. Tell me if that isn’t enough to hit Sheppard back.” Chris spread his arms and smiled, literally welcoming them with open arms. Jensen had to admit that the guy was hella persuasive.

“Since you’re worthy enough to be an Omega’s Alpha mate, then as long as he chooses you,” Ed paused to nod at Jared, “I’ll follow your lead.”

“As do I, Alpha,” said Jackson and Sid.

“Us too,” said the girls which was echoed by the rest of the werewolves.

 And Jensen went home with ten more pack members that day.

 


	8. Sky of Ash

  
  


  
Danni was used to the wild life of night clubs. Before joining the Ackles’ pack she had made her income from seducing rich men and pilfering their money. Thanks to her connection with Chris, she knew who was fair game and who was to be avoided. Usually, she sank her claws into unsuspecting rich kids or tourists and stayed away from gangsters. Although not a few of them tried to get her attention and Roy Grayson was one of them.  
  
The guy was not unattractive. On the other hand, his classic good looks was perfected by his wavy blond hair and brilliant blue eyes. He was quite famous among the club goers as a ladies man; had been known to leave with two or three different women every time he visited clubs. Danni also knew that he was one of Sheppard’s trusted men, which made him her perfect target for the night.  
  
As usual, she started the night by ordering her favorite cocktail and sat alone at the bar, watching people dance on the dance floor a few feet away. She knew that Roy was watching her from his private booth to the left of the bar but she pretended not to notice him. A young man sidled up taking the empty stool next to her, gesturing at the bartender for a drink before turning towards her.  
  
“Hi, there!” the young man greeted her, all smiles and dimpled cheeks. He was cute, though a bit too young for her taste.  
  
Danni smiled seductively at him, noticing the way his green eyes lustfully raked over her curves. “Hi to you too, handsome!” The man smiled in return; pleased by the compliment.  
  
“You wanna dance?” the man asked.  
  
“Sorry, cowboy but I don’t dance with strangers. I don’t even know your name,” Danni said, widening her brown eyes innocently.  
  
“Oh, sorry! I’m Robbie,” the man said thrusting his hand at her.  
  
“Robbie… I like that,” Danni smiled, raising her eyebrows as she took his proffered hand. Then, she lowered her voice into husky whisper and told him her name. “I’m Danni.”  
  
The bartender arrived with his drink but he ignored it in favor of engaging Danni in a conversation.  
  
“So, I see that you’re alone,” Robbie said. “How about that dance?”  
  
Danni laughed. “Quite persistent aren’t you?” she teased him and the guy blushed, an embarrassed smile on his face. Now that she truly looked at him, the man probably just barely over twenty, probably hadn’t even reached the drinking age yet. But his shirt and dress pants looked expensive. “Alright, cowboy, lead the way!”  
  
To her surprise, the man (more like the kid actually) knew how to dance. Both of them moved swiftly around the floor, shaking their bodies to the music. Robbie kept his hands on her the whole time and she cringed when they strayed to her breasts or her ass.  When he grabbed her breast for the fifth time that night, she decided enough was enough and dragged the kid to the bar.  
  
Danni gestured towards the bartender intending to ask for a refill and the bartender quickly placed the drink in front of her saying, “It’s from Mr. Grayson.”  
  
“Oh!” Danni raised an eyebrow and turned to look at where Roy Grayson was watching her from his booth. She lifted the glass and saluted him.  
  
“Your friend?” Robbie asked, frowning as he followed Danni’s eyes.  
  
“Hmmm… not really but he really wants to be,” Danni said with a smirk. She downed her drink and hoped off the chair. “Gosh! All that dancing’s made me hot. Going to the ladies’ room, be back in a sec!”  
  
The bathroom was opposite the bar, so Danni had to walk around the dance floor to reach it but the good news was that she could sashay past Roy Grayson’s booth. Luckily, the queue was not long that night. Danni quickly went into one of the stalls to check on her bracelets and touch up her makeup. It was as expected when she found one of Roy’s bodyguard waiting for her outside the ladies’ room.  
  
“Mr. Grayson wants to talk to you,” the fierce looking bodyguard said. On the rare occasions that she went to a night club, Roy Grayson had always seemed to be there trying to gain her attention, either by buying her drinks or inviting her to his private booth. That night was no exception but she had anticipated it and was even looking forward to it. The guard led her towards a secluded corner of the club that catered for very special guests.  Considering the club was on Sheppard’s turf, it wasn’t surprising that his men received special treatment.  
  
“My gorgeous Danni!” Grayson greeted when he saw Danni approaching.  
  
Danni swayed her hips and smiled saucily at him. “Roy, it’s a pleasant surprise to see you here,” which was a lie, “I don’t usually frequent posh clubs like this but well, a girl needs a change of scenery sometimes,” which was true. She usually avoided posh clubs for several reasons. People like him were one of them and the other was that tourists and college kids usually had the difficulty getting in no matter how much money they brought with them.  
  
“What made tonight special? Tell me you’ve ditched Kane. I’ve had enough of him meddling in my business. Who does he think he is, anyway?” Grayson sniffed disdainfully. His dislike of Chris was clear.  
  
From what she’d learnt from Chris, him and Grayson had had some kind of an enmity ever since Chris joined Sheppard’s organization. Grayson was always suspicious of him and had always tried to prevent him from getting closer to Sheppard. Once he’d found out that Chris and her were close, he’d always tried to make advances at her. At first, it was only to annoy Chris but later on Danni thought that the guy was just a little bit obsessed with her.  
  
“Chris is not here. I’m alone to do whatever I want tonight,” Danni said, giving Grayson a meaningful look.  
  
“That’s wonderful my dear. Come sit with me then.” Roy unceremoniously shoved one of the other girls away and patted the newly vacated seat next to him, beckoning her to sit down. The girl shrieked when Grayson pushed her away. Danni raised her eyebrows at him but the bastard just smiled.  
  
She gracefully sat in the low booth, intentionally letting her dress slip open to reveal her smooth skin underneath. The other girl huffed at her, sending her angry glares which Danni happily ignored. She saw Roy glance at her naked thigh when he reached for a tall glass of her favorite cocktail on the table in front of her. She accepted the offered drink and sipped it slowly.  
  
“So, tell me love. Why do you always refuse my advances but happily go to bed with every man with a thick wad in his wallet? I can give you more, you know?” Grayson said as he played with Danni’s hair, tucking her red locks behind her ears and stroking her cheek.  
  
Danni had to laugh at him for the atrocious idea. “My, my… you really don’t know me at all. Who said I bedded them?”  
  
“You didn’t?” Grayson asked, frowning.  
  
Danni leaned closer until their lips just a couple of centimeters apart. “I play my cards well, honey. I’m a thief not a whore.”  
  
Grayson observed her for a moment, a calculating look in his eyes as he seemed to judge the truth in her words. “What about Ackles then?” he asked, “I heard that you’ve latched onto him the past few weeks.”  
  
“I’m just curious. He was supposed to be dead. I just wanna find out what’s special about him,” answered Danni easily, almost flippantly as she sipped her drinks. She felt Grayson’s curiosity peak just as she expected.  
  
“And?”  
  
“And what?” Danni teased.  
  
Grayson huffed impatiently. He was known to have a short temper and very competitive. Danni just needed to drop a bit of a challenge to get his competitive streak to rear its ugly head. “What’s special about him? What does he have that I don’t?”  
  
Well, except that he’s a werewolf and you aren’t, but she couldn’t very well say that, could she?  
  
“What does he give you? Is he good in bed?”  
  
“Now, now... is that jealousy I hear?” Danni smiled. “Darling, d’you think I’m that easy? If I wanted to get laid I’d pick someone much better looking,” (and the opposite gender, of course but she didn’t say that out loud). Danni trailed her dainty fingers along Grayson’s leg, appreciating the smooth material of his expensive dress pants. She eyed the half empty glass of whiskey sour on the table and gestured for a passing by waitress for a refill.  
  
Grayson chuckled. “You, consorting with the enemy. What does Kane say about that?”  
  
“He doesn’t say anything. In fact, I did it for him,” Danni said with a smile.  
  
“Are you saying that Chris Kane, your protector, allowed you to sully yourself with the likes of Ackles when he barely let me look at you? What does he want from Ackles?” Grayson hissed.  
  
“Information. Anything that I can gather from him when he is drunk and senseless. He’s never very good at keeping secrets from his girls. Chris wanted me to find something out. Something that Sheppard wants. It’s a secret mission,” Danni taunted.  
  
Grayson’s face turned sour, disbelief and indignation clear in his eyes. “That’s a lie!” Grayson snapped, gritting his teeth. “Sheppard never ordered such a thing. Kane has fallen out of favor. His days are numbered. That’s why he’s hiding. Because he’s scared,” Grayson spat.  
  
Danni smiled sweetly at him. “That’s what you think, honey.” She put her empty glass on the table and picked up Grayson’s cocktail. Feigning drunkenness, she spilled a bit of the beverage on her wrist. “Ops! Sorry…” The drop of liquid ran down her arm into the crook of her elbow and she quickly licked it up with her tongue, feeling the man’s eyes on her all the time.  Taking advantage of Grayson’s distracted attention, she wiped her bracelet with her other hand, surreptitiously swiping her forefinger on the inside before dipping said finger in the drink.  
  
“Sorry, guess I’m clumsy tonight.” Danni continued to drag her tongue along her arm, licking the sour liquid while handing Grayson his drink.  
  
Still frowning, Grayson took the glass before seizing Danni’s wrist with his other hand. “I know what you’re doing, you know,” Grayson said, a smile slowly spreading across his lips. For a second there, Danni’s heartbeat stopped but then Grayson continued, “You’re trying to distract me, aren’t you? Taunting me with this lie about this so called secret mission when the truth is you want to distract my attention from the real menace, Kane. Tell me, Danneel, what that scum is up to?”  
  
“Perhaps you should ask your boss,” Danni taunted again. “You think you’re so important, yet the truth is, Sheppard never tells you anything important, does he? Where were you when they’d got Jensen Ackles bound and bloody in their basement?”  
  
“You’re lying!”  
  
Danni raised her eyebrow in challenge. “Am I?”  
  
Grayson grunted in anger. His nostrils flared as he contemplated Danni’s words. Danni eyed the drink impatiently. ‘Come on! Drink the cocktail, you fool!’ As if listening to her inner plea, Grayson gulped his cocktail down then threw the glass angrily on the floor before he finished it. Oh, well, she thought, at least he drank some of it.  
  
“Fuck!” Grayson swore. Then, he did something Danni didn’t expect. He grabbed her arm and yanked her up. “You’re coming with me,” he said before dragging a panicked Danni out of the club and into his car.  
  
“Roy, where’re we going?” Danni asked nervously. “Stop it, you’re hurting me!”  
  
“Shut up and get in!”  
  
Grayson shoved her into the backseat of his car before getting in after her. He told his driver to drive but not telling him where to. Danni half hoped that they were heading towards Sheppard’s hideout. Ever since Jensen announced his return, Sheppard had apparently realized the danger of staying at his old place and had moved his base of operations somewhere unknown. She was hoping that after Chris had fallen out of favor, Sheppard would trust Grayson enough to let the man know where he was holed up now. But then again Sheppard must have told him the reason why he had to move and the fact that he didn’t know about Jensen’s kidnapping made the whole thing moot.  
  
“Roy, please let go of me,” Danni pleaded, letting her voice tremble and adding a small sob to make it more convincing.  
  
Grayson wrapped his hand around her throat. “You’re not going anywhere, darling. Since you’ve been Ackles whore the past few weeks, you’ll be our hostage. Sheppard would love to have a chat with you and I believe you know where Kane is hiding right now, do you?” Grayson laughed. “Killing two birds with one stone. It’ll push me up the ranks in the family. I’ll get a bigger territory and more business. Now, sit tight!” Grayson ordered, squeezing Danni’s throat to emphasize.  
  
Danni played her part well. She widened her eyes and let out a louder sob, acting the perfect damsel in distress. Grayson pulled out his phone and dialed a few numbers. She wondered if he was calling Sheppard.  
  
“Sir, you won’t believe who I have with me right now.” There was a few seconds pause before Grayson spoke again. “I’m sorry sir but… yes, I know… but I have caught one of Ackles’ whores… Danneel, she’s also Kane’s close friend. She told me that Kane told her to gain information from Ackles. She must know where Kane is.” Grayson paused to listen to Sheppard’s instruction. It seemed things had turned in her favor. If she was lucky they were gonna be at Sheppard’s place within minutes. She just had to wait until the poison kicked in, hopefully before they reached Sheppard’s.  
  
Grayson had ended the call and quickly ordered his driver to the new address. He sat back and leaned closer to her. “Relax, darling. Just do as they say and tell them everything you know.”  
  
“Please, Roy, please just let me go. I’ll do anything you want but please don’t take me to them,” Danni pleaded, whimpering. Damn, if only she could shed a tear or two.  
  
Grayson reached for her but Danni fought his advances. The man crushed her futile effort easily and seized her wrist and twisted it. Danni screamed and cried. “Hey, hey, hey… Danni love, listen to me. Don’t be afraid. I can persuade Sheppard to spare your life but only if you give me what I want,” Grayson said, running his fingers through her hair. He leaned even closer and pressed his lips to hers. “There now, that wasn’t so bad, right? You spread your legs for Ackles, I’m sure you can do the same for me, to save your life.”  
  
Danni hid her cringe as she let Grayson lay her down on the leather seat. Finally getting what he wanted, Grayson spared no time taking advantage of her situation. He pulled down her top to fondle her breasts as he kissed his way inside her mouth, sucking her tongue and biting her lips roughly. Her legs were soon pushed apart and she almost gagged as he ground his swollen cock against her. Danni waited anxiously for the poison to kick in, hopefully before the idiot sank his disgusting penis inside her.  
  
Just as Grayson was going to unzip his zipper, his body suddenly froze. Danni’s poison had a slow reaction but once it kicked in, it paralyzed the victim’s muscles but kept them conscious. Danni yanked the man’s hair and lifted him up off her chest, spittle dribbled from his slack mouth onto her left nipple. She sneered at him. “What’s wrong, Roy? Can’t get it up?” She mocked. Roy just glared at her, grunting in anger.  
  
She rested Grayson’s head on her shoulder to continue the charade and to hide her from the rearview mirror, just in case the driver took a peek. Grayson let out a grunt as Danni searched his pockets for his phone. She moved their bodies a little to make it look like Grayson was still having a grand time with her. Once she got his phone out, she quickly called Chris.  
  
“ _Yes?_ ” Chris asked.  
  
“I’m going in. This idiot has notified Sheppard. We’re on our way now,” Danni whispered.  
  
“ _Gen’s tailing you and we’re right behind her. Take care Danni.”_  
  
Grayson grunted his protest but he was powerless to do anything. “Thank you for bringing us to Sheppard,” Danni whispered in his ear. “Have a nice dream, Roy.” Then, Danni pinched the nerve in his neck until he passed out. She’d got to learn that move from Chris a couple of years back because he worried about her safety whenever she was out doing tricks.  
  
As a precaution, Danni turned on the GPS system on Grayson’s phone and put it back inside his pocket. She jolted the man’s body a little and let out a loud moan. She heard the driver chuckling in the front. Mustering a smile, Danni pulled a mint strip from her other bracelet and put it in her mouth. The strip was actually a Juliet potion which was a kind of poison that made the drinker look like they were dead for a certain length of time. It was one of Danni’s specialties, next to the silver neutralizer. No one would do anything with a dead body. So, when they entered Sheppard’s facility, they’d think of her as a lost cause. Working quickly, Danni quickly pushed Grayson’s pants down and pulled his limp penis out, making it look like Grayson had passed out during the action due to his alcohol consumption. She wanted to see their faces when they found her ‘dead’ body, though.  
  
The pull of the Juliet poison was instant. Danni was soon lost in the darkness as soon as the strip melted completely in her mouth.  
  
  


  
  
Genevieve changed gear on her bike and twisted the handle, pushing the engine to run faster. She’d been following Grayson’s cars at a reasonable distance so as not to arouse suspicion. She had hid amongst the other cars while still able to follow them undetected but when the two cars turned into a lonely back road it was impossible to stay hidden. Grayson had never gone anywhere without his men and this time was no different. While Danni was able to keep him busy, his men riding in the car behind them were starting to suspect her. Taking advantage of the empty road, they started to shoot at her.  
  
“Damn it!” Gen cursed as one of the bullets grazed her helmet.  
  
Suddenly the car swerved to the side and turned sideways, stopping across the middle of the road. The four guys inside shot at her simultaneously, making it difficult for her to dodge. A couple of the bullets hit her bike and caused her to lose her balance. Her body hit the asphalt hard as her bike continued to skid, dragging her with it before it stopped just a few feet from their car.  
  
The gunshots ceased for a few minutes as the men assessed the situation. “Go check on him!” One of the men ordered.  
  
Gen stayed still, letting the men come to her. A steel toed boot kicked her in the ribs and she quickly lashed out, breaking the man’s leg with one punch to his femur. As the guy screamed in pain, she threw her knife at the guy behind him. It sank into his chest, right into his heart, killing him instantly. Realizing she was still alive, the two guys standing a few feet away started shooting at her again. She grabbed the still screaming man off the ground to use as a shield. When the men were out of bullets, she discarded the body and charged ahead.  
  
“Come on! You punk!” One of them yelled, brandishing a baseball bat from the backseat of the car. He stepped forward and met her head on, swinging the bat at her helmet. The power of the impact broke the helmet and sent her flying.  
  
Gen shook her head a little, dismissing the ringing in her ears. She threw the broken helmet aside just in time to see the baseball bat swing again. Ducking in the nick of time, Gen rolled away and used her momentum to kick the guy’s wrist, dislodging the bat from his hand, before following it with a higher kick to his head and a scissor choke hold. The difference in height and the disadvantage of her position made the move moot, when instead of choking the guy just stood up straighter and gripped her legs to lift her up. Realizing the situation, she let go of her hold and did a back flip. But just as she regained her balance, she was body slammed into the side of the car.  
  
“Fuck!” Gen swore.  
  
“Need a hand Flint?” his friend shouted, standing, waiting with a newly loaded gun ready in his hand.  
  
“Nah, I can handle a little ol’ girl,” said Flint.  
  
Flint grabbed the lapels of Gen’s leather jacket and pulled her up but Gen was ready. She grabbed Flint’s arm and with her werewolf strength crushed his bones. Flint’s scream alarmed his pal. The guy took aim but couldn’t get a shot in because Flint was in the way.  
  
“Move, Flint!”  
  
Gen growled and swung Flint’s body into the car behind her breaking his neck. The sound of gunshot rang in the air as the other guy shot her in the back. The shock of the shots sent her to her knees. Grunting in pain Gen let her body tilt sideways and slump on the ground. The guy who’d shot her approached her warily, aiming his gun at her. When there was no movement on her part, the guy quickly pulled out his phone and dialed his boss.  
  
The guy swore when the phone went to voice mail for the third time. He guessed Grayson must be out of commission. Good! In the meantime, Gen used the chance to regroup and gather her strength. One of the bullets had lodged inside her lung, making it hard for her to draw breath. The regenerative system had kicked in but the wound wouldn’t heal completely until the bullet had been pulled out. Theoretically, it could be done by using muscle strength and the werewolf regenerative power to heel the torn tissue and eventually push the bullet out of the wound but she wasn’t strong enough to do it.  
  
 “Fuck it! I better get out of this place before someone calls the cops,” the guy muttered, walking towards his car.  
  
Gen couldn’t let this guy get away since he could notify the others. Wincing in pain, she pushed herself to her feet and stumbled towards him. The guy heard her movement and turned around aiming his gun. With the last of her strength, Gen jumped the remaining distance, slashing her claws into his neck as another two bullets penetrated her stomach and chest.  
  
  


  
  
**Sheppard’s hideout…**  
  
The guards let Grayson’s car through the gates as a couple of guys came out of the big ranch house that Sheppard had been using for his operations base for the past few weeks. The car stopped in front of the door and they frowned in confusion when Grayson didn’t get out. They shared a look before one of them approached the car to open the back door.  
  
“What the… Grayson!”  
  
One of them searched for Grayson’s pulse and sighed in relief when he found that he was just unconscious. Then, he searched for the girl’s pulse and frowned when he found none. “He’s passed out but the girl’s dead.”  
  
“What?” The other guy turned towards the driver who’d stepped out of the car. “What happened?”  
  
“Last time I checked they were fucking each other back there. Then, both of them passed out. Probably drunk,” the driver answered, shrugging.  
  
“She could have overdosed.”  
  
“What an idiot!”  
  
“Let’s get them both inside and tell Sheppard.”  
  
  


  
  
Jensen stood near the tree line, watching Sheppard’s house with Kane next to him. Who would’ve thought that the crime boss would choose a ranch house out of town for hiding? Granted it was a huge ranch house with high concrete walls around the property and guards at its gate, but that was nothing to the werewolves.  
  
Jensen took a deep breath as he saw the guards take Danni and Roy Grayson inside. “She’s in. How about Gen?”  
  
“Rose and the other girls are tending to her right now. Once she recuperates, they’ll catch up.” Chris reported.  
  
Jensen nodded. “Fifteen minutes, then send in the first of the cavalry.”  
  
  


  
  
“What the bloody hell is this?!” Sheppard asked when he entered his library and found Grayson and the girl sprawled on the floor. Two of his men stood above them.  
  
“We found her in Grayson’s car like this, sir. I think she’s probably overdosed.” One of the men reported.  
  
“Is she dead?”  
  
“Looks like it. I couldn’t find her pulse but her body’s still warm.”  
  
Sheppard scrutinized the girl’s features. She _did_ look like the girl who was often seen with Jensen; one of his new harem. Too bad he couldn’t make use of her. “Is Grayson dead too?” he spat.  
  
“No, sir. He’s just unconscious, probably drunk.”  
  
“Wasting my time,” Sheppard grumbled. “Tie him up! And call me when the idiot wakes up.” After Sheppard left the library, the men quickly put Grayson in one of the chairs and looked for a rope to tie him up as instructed.  
  
“What about the girl?” One of them asked.  
  
“Just leave her there for now.”  
  
They were just closing the library door when the sound of gunshots rang from outside the house. They quickly ran towards the nearby window and saw three black SUV’s entering the already broken gate. Armed men jumped from them, shooting at the house. Both men quickly pulled out their guns and scrambled down the stairs.  
  
“Tell Sheppard we’re under attack!” ordered one of them.  
  
His friend nodded and ran in the opposite direction towards Sheppard’s office when a growl stopped him in his tracks. He peered into the badly lit hallway on his left and took an aim when he saw movement. He gasped when a large wolf jumped out of the darkness at him.  
  
  


  
  
Only minutes before, the guards at the gate looked up and tilted their heads when they heard a wolf’s howl.  
  
“Are there wolves around here?” one of them asked.  
  
“Dunno,” said the other. Another long howl was heard, this time it sounded a lot closer. “It’s creepy, though.”  
  
Then, there was the sound of a car engine coming closer, just few seconds before a black Mustang smashed through the gates. The car stopped in the middle of the front lawn where the guards peppered it with bullets.  
  
A third howl was heard and werewolves, led by Jensen, jumped over the walls from every direction, quietly slipped through the darkness towards the main house. The gate guards were still preoccupied with the black Mustang to realize it. People ran out of the house with guns as Chris brought his men in. Three black SUV’s full of armed men entered through the broken gate and started shooting at Sheppard’s men while the wolves attacked the house, breaking through the windows and backdoor. Those still inside pulled their guns but the wolves jumped them before they could even pull the trigger.  
  
Sid and Jackson who were hiding under the seat to avoid the bullets during the first wave of the attack got out of the Mustang brandishing their own guns. They ran into the house along with the wolves as Chris told his men to stay outside to clean up the guards around the property. He’d given them strict order not to enter the house. Inside, several werewolves had shifted into their human form. They tore and slashed their way through Sheppard’s ranks with a speed and agility that was way better than the humans. It was a blood bath.  
  
Jensen tore into John’s neck savagely, severing his head from his body. Then, he tilted his head up and howled over the torturer’s dead body. Assuming his human form, he spat the blood onto the corpse with distaste before ordering the pack to search for Sheppard and Danni.  
  
“Find Sheppard! But don’t kill him. Leave him to me,” Jensen ordered.  
  
  


  
  
Sheppard stood with a gun aimed at the door when Jensen entered his office. He shot him in the chest but Jensen’s step only faltered for a moment before he flexed his shoulders and concentrated on the wound, pushing the bullet out. He grinned when he saw the surprise in Sheppard’s eyes as the bullet clattered to the floor.  
  
“Neat, isn’t it?” Jensen taunted. “I’m sure you’d want a little bit of this,” Jensen said, spreading his arm wide. “After all, this is what you’re looking for, isn’t it? You kidnapped me for this, tortured me for the secret, for your experiment.”  
  
“You’re a werewolf,” Sheppard whispered in shock. “But… how is it possible?”  
  
“Naturally, I wasn’t born a werewolf. I was turned. Right after you left me to die and dumped my body in the woods, a werewolf bit me.” Jensen walked around the opulent room while Sheppard’s gun tracked his every movement. “Go on, shoot me again. Let’s see how many bullets I can push out.”  
  
Sheppard narrowed his eyes and aimed his gun higher, at Jensen’s head before pulling the trigger. The second the bullet left its chamber, Jensen was on the move. He growled and leaped forward with claws outstretched, narrowly missing the bullet. The third one hit his left ear, though and the fourth one embedded itself in his left palm before he managed to grab Sheppard’s wrist and crush his bones. He choked Sheppard, lifting the mob boss with his right hand, crushing his windpipe in the process.  
  
Jensen let out a loud roar that was heard throughout the house as he threw Sheppard’s lifeless body to the floor.

 

  



	9. Epilogue

  


It was a couple of weeks later and the pack was still celebrating their victory but Jared knew that there were still a lot of things to do. Sheppard might be dead but his gangsters were still out and about. The switchers had switched back after learning that their big boss was no more. These guys were automatically kicked to the bottom of the barrel while the others, too proud to admit defeat, had refused to join the fold. Jensen let them go. They were slightly better than the switchers. At least, they weren’t cowards. Besides, the Ackles had never strived on monopoly. It was better to strike a business deal with them than force them to join and risk backstabbers. A compact but loyal family was worth a thousand times more than a large but untrustworthy one and there was no family more loyal than a werewolf pack.  
  
The full moon was high in the sky. Jared stood on the balcony of the rec room, watching the kids joke around in the backyard. A couple of the guys had set up a grill and were barbequing while the others went to hunt in the woods. The girls were lazing around gossiping on the loungers. He saw Chris chatting to Ed and Jackson at one side of the yard, probably about mob business… or the score of the latest football match.  
  
“Why don’t you go down there and join them?” Jared was so deep in thought that Jensen’s voice made him jump. Jensen looked guilty. “Sorry, did I surprise you?”  
  
Jared offered him a small smile. “No, it’s okay.”  
  
“It’s a full moon. You usually love full moons.” Jensen chuckled. “I can’t remember how many times I spent nights like this holed up in my room feeling jealous of you. It was stupid.”  
  
Jared watched the Alpha as he leaned on the railing next to him. Their arms just a few inches apart and he unconsciously shifted closer. Jensen’s eyelashes were long and pretty and his freckles stood out starkly against his pale skin. His dark blond hair had gotten longer and the golden tips curled around his ears. His lips looked so full that night, stretched over rows of neat white teeth as he smiled. Jared found himself sighing with longing.  
  
“Don’t cut your hair,” Jared said suddenly.  
  
Jensen turned to him, surprised. “What about my hair?”  
  
Jared blinked and quickly snapped out of his daze, scrambling for an explanation for his outburst. “Uh, it’s… nice. Not too short but also not long enough to look ridiculous.”  
  
“You think my hair looks ridiculous?” Jensen asked, laughing. “Alright, as you wish. I’ll keep it this way.” Then, he stepped closer, wrapping his hands around Jared’s hips. Jared let him. “Anything else I need to do? A pedicure, maybe? Or tanning lotion?”  
Jared shook his head and Jensen leaned even closer, touching his lips to Jared’s. “The pack is watching. If you still want me to lead the pack then I suggest we give them a show.”  
  
“Is that the only reason why you want to kiss me?” Jared asked, feeling hurt somehow.  
  
“I said that to manipulate you into doing what I wanted,” Jensen answered. Jared frowned and leaned back but Jensen put his palm on Jared’s jaw, stroking his cheek with his thumb drawing him closer. “But I’m willing to do whatever you want me to, just to get a kiss from you.”  
  
Jared’s wolf purred and his mind was filled with the image of him in his wolf form rubbing his body against Jensen’s wolf as they rolled around on the green grass in the forest. His heart was thudding loudly in his chest. The past few weeks, he’d spent a lot of time thinking. Living with Jensen had turned out to be not as horrible as he’d thought it would be and Jensen had clearly changed. He didn’t dare call it love but the Alpha clearly thought highly and fondly of him. He could even probably take advantage of it and demand the Alpha do as he pleased.  
  
“I called Kim the other day. She said it’s probably safe for me to return. She’s even prepared a cover story for me,” Jared said.  
  
“Sure, just tell me when you wanna go, I’ll arrange for a bodyguard for you,” Jensen agreed easily.  
  
“I want to do a movie too. Kim said there are a couple of good scripts she wants me to read.”  
  
“Tell me who’s the director is and I’ll get you the role,” Jensen promised.  
  
“I don’t want your help getting the role I want…” Jared protested indignantly. “I want to be able to get it because of my acting, not your connections.”  
  
Jensen smiled. “Of course! In that case I’ll stay away from meddling in your career. I swear!” Jared narrowed his eyes. “Please, don’t pout like that.” Jensen begged, kissing his chin and jaw line. “I’ve promised, haven’t I?”  
  
Jared pushed him away and went inside, Jensen hot on his heels. The Alpha grabbed his arm and stopped him in the middle of the room. “Hey, come on,” Jensen cajoled. Then, he gestured towards the glass ceiling above them. “Look at the moon up there! It’s pretty, isn’t it?”  
  
They both looked up at the full moon above them. Jared remembered the last full moon with Jensen in the forest, hunting with him and their mating afterwards. He couldn’t count how many nights he’d spent fucking his own hand with the memory of that night playing in his mind; how his body had begged for release and for him to cross the hall towards Jensen’s room and fuck himself on his Alpha’s cock and in his head he did exactly that. He would throw Jensen onto his bed, pull his pants off and have his way with him. Sometimes, the Alpha was waiting for him with his cock out, ready for him. He never protested; even when he was busy on the phone or with his work.  
  
Jared looked at Jensen, really looked at him and he realized that here he had got the perfect mate (Alright, maybe not that perfect. Jensen was still annoying sometimes). But this was a werewolf who’d do anything for him, yet due to his upbringing, was not overly enamored by his Omega status. This was an Alpha who would tease and mock him ceaselessly because of his quirks and odd habits and basically be a pain in his ass, sometimes even literally. Jensen was his mate but first and foremost, he was his stepbrother and he would keep him grounded.  
  
Jared grinned down at Jensen before swiping his feet from under him and pushing his mate down onto the thick rug of the rec room. The Alpha let out a surprised yelp and Jared snickered at him. But the yelp turned to an aroused groan when Jared kneeled, straddling his hips and grinding down against him. “You’re _my_ Alpha, right?”  
  
“’Course I am.”  
  
“Shhh! Keep quiet! Don’t move and don’t say anything except ‘please’. Got it?!” Jared told him. Jensen’s eyes went wide, the pupils dilated with lust at the display of dominance. Jared’s fingers deftly worked Jensen’s pants off and quickly stripped him of his shirt.  
  
“Alright, then. I’ll just enjoy the full moon right here,” Jensen said, putting his hands behind his head, letting Jared do as he pleased with him.

Jared growled and leaned over Jensen to bite his lower lip. “Didn’t I tell you to shut up?”

Jensen blinked at him before he seemed to get with the program. “Please, Omega…” The Alpha begged.

“That’s better. Good Alpha!” Jared praised, patting Jensen’s hair like a dog.  
  
Then, he divested himself of his own clothes and perched naked on Jensen’s  legs, stroking their hardening cocks together, eliciting groans and moans from both of them. He lifted his hips and aligned Jensen’s cock with his already dripping hole before sinking slowly down, savoring every moment. His eyes never strayed from Jensen’s face as his Alpha looked at him with adoration.  
Jared looked up at the bright full moon shining down on them. It was beautiful and at that moment he decided that even though his life wasn’t perfect, he was willing to see where it would go from there, with Jensen.

 

**THE END**

 


End file.
